Anonymous
by JasoTheArtisan
Summary: Sequel to "So". Years after Aizen's death, the Vizards have resurfaced, asking Soul Society for assistance in the real world. And when Arrancar begin to reappear, the Gotei 13 will travel to Hueco Mundo in hopes that Aizen's army hasn't rebuilt itself.
1. Prologue: Halloween

_**Prologue:**_

_**Halloween**_

An overly-gracious smile shined out from beneath straight blonde bangs.

Grimmjow Jaggerjaques found himself awestruck as he looked at the man that was currently strolling down the aisle and toward the Captain-commander's seat; he and this man had fought one time, almost twenty-five years ago. Grimmjow, along with the rest of Soul Society, had assumed the Vizards had disappeared completely after the Winter War had ended.

Yet Hirako Shinji stood before them, zanpakuto tucked into the belt of his grey slacks as he stopped in front of Unohana.

"Hirako," Unohana said, her typically mellifluous voice tinged with malice. "Why have you requested an audience before us?" Several of the lieutenants in the room began to shift their eyes nervously. An angry Unohana Retsu was not a pleasant sight.

The Vizard's smile widened as she addressed him; if he was shaken by the menacing tones in her voice, he didn't show it in the least.

"I just wanted to swing by and give you a belated congratulation on your promotion," Shinji said, his smile never faltering as he looked up at his former captain. "Retsu."

"It would be wise," Madarame Ikkaku, captain of the eleventh division, spoke up from the far end of the room, "not to waste our time with mockery."

The bald captain was standing with his eyes closed and his hands tucked into his tattered white sleeves. Grimmjow couldn't help but note the calm composure of the captain; Ikkaku was now far-removed from the hellacious brute he'd first met years ago. His captaincy had brought out a level of maturity from him that one would have been hard pressed to believe existed. But more often than not, it was Captain Madarame who played the voice of reason in tough situations.

"Of course not," Shinji said without taking his eyes off of the woman in front of him. "Time is one thing we all are short on, it would seem."

"Why have you come here, Hirako?" Unohana's voice was still calm, but the irritation was beginning to become more prevalent in it as she repeated her initial question.

"Well, Retsu," the blonde-haired exile said, his smile growing impossibly wider. "I'm gonna be blunt with you: I seem to have a problem on my hands and I was wondering if good ol' Soul Society wouldn't mind lending me a hand with it."

"_Bullshit."_Soi Fon hissed in front of Grimmjow, causing him to chuckle. His captain had always been pleasantly brazen with her opinions; it was one of the things he liked best about her. That and she was sexy as hell.

The rest of the room began to stir in displeasure as well. Grimmjow glanced briefly across the aisle at third division Captain Kira Izuru. He had traded his typically melancholy expression for a much more expressive one, his face twisting into sour disapproval. Behind him, Lieutenant Kurotsuchi Nemu remained as stoic as always.

"You ask us for assistance after remaining decidedly absent from the Winter War?" Unohana could no longer mask her exasperation at the former shinigami. "The Vizards, who stood idly by when Seireitei needed your aid the most, now come begging for the support you were so keen on withholding?"

"Perhaps a century was still too short a time to mend some wounds," Shinji replied without skipping a beat, his grin still peeking out from under the flat-cap that adorned his blonde head. "But I assure you that our absence from battle was not a showing of allegiance towards Aizen."

"It was simply you proving your unending bitterness?" Abarai Renji questioned from the fifth spot in line, lieutenant Kuchiki's shocked expression at her captain's words apparent on her face.

The story of the Vizards had become well-traveled after the death of Aizen Sousuke. When Captain-commander Unohana had allowed Urahara Kisuke to contest his state of exile, he'd subsequently come out with the truth behind Aizen's "hollowfication" experiments. The Vizards were absolved of all crimes in the eyes of Soul Society, and after Kurosaki Ichigo became captain of the thirteenth division, the fear of hybrid shinigami was all but abolished.

Besides, Unohana had already quelled the final trepidations of the Arrancar by taking Ulquiorra Schiffer as her lieutenant.

But despite Soul Society's admittance to its past errors, bad blood remained because of the Vizard's lack of aid during Aizen's attempt at overthrowing Seireitei. And Grimmjow could feel the loathing in the room as Hirako Shinji turned to face the tattooed captain.

"When the men and women you consider family stab _you_in the back," the blonde man's smile finally shattered, falling like glass into a sharp frown as he spoke to Renji, "we'll see how indefatigable _your_bitterness is."

The two men held their glares for a moment longer before Shinji's grin returned and he faced the Captain-commander once more.

"I'm not asking much, Captain-commander Unohana," he said, unabashedly sprinkling formalities into his otherwise rude speech patterns. "We've just been seeing an abnormal amount of hollow activity in the transient world lately. We've tried to take care of it on our own, but they're getting stronger and stronger as time goes on. There's only the six of us anymore, and we can't be defending the real world on our own forever."

Unohana closed her eyes and sighed. The mood in the room tangibly shifted from anger to disappointment; Unohana Retsu's compassion for those in need was legendary. It was completely unheard of for her to turn down a request like this. The twin line of officers and lieutenants began to shift like cilia in a discomforting current as the Vizard before them smiled wider.

Unohana opened her eyes once more, the cold and angry orbs having been replaced by the warm and gentle ones that she was most recognized for.

"Hirako Shinji," she said mildly, but her voice maintaining a touch of authority to it. "Soul Society will consider your request for assistance. You will return to the material world as we deliberate upon a decision."

The room erupted into a faint chorus of groans and sighs, but the blonde man acted oblivious to it all. He simply smiled at the Captain-commander, bowed his head slightly, and turned to walk out of the hall.

He shot Grimmjow a smirk as he passed by.

Grimmjow snarled slightly, but the man had already walked through the room and out the enormous set of double doors. The massive wood panels swung shut behind Shinji, leaving a room filled with upset shinigami. An uneasy silence settled over the room for a few seconds as all eyes slowly drifted over to Unohana. The Captain-commander sat with her eyelids shut as she patiently awaited the inevitable outcry.

"Captain Unohana," it was Kotetsu Isane who broke the silence, her voice timid as she addressed her former captain. The Captain-commander's eyes opened at her addresser, her mouth smiling as she looked at the captain of the fourth division.

"Isane?"

"Perhaps granting the request of the Vizard was not the most…" Captain Kotetsu paused slightly, fishing for words. "…judicious of decisions, ma'am."

"I disagree," Captain Komamura Sajin's voice boomed from the middle of the line, not allowing the Captain-commander the opportunity to respond. "The Vizards were completely within reason to abstain from the War; it was not their battle to fight. We shouldn't punish them any more than we already have."

"Aizen betrayed them also," Hisagi Shuuhei spoke up from next to the canine-like captain. "If not to a greater degree than Soul Society did. Their inactivity on both sides shows a level of cowardice and partiality that I have little desire to be associated with."

"Yes yes yes," Kurotsuchi Mayuri spoke up from the end of the lines, his black and white face paint running in geometric patterns over his skin, eerie chuckles escaping from his peculiar smile. "I would usually be inclined to agree with Captain Hisagi. However, aligning ourselves with the hybrids may be a wonderful opportunity; my data shows that by acquiring hollow powers, these shinigami stand to ascend beyond all known levels of ability. Having them in league could prove to be a wise decision." He tittered as he pointed across the aisle from himself. "We've already had _one_of the half-breeds prove useful."

Ichigo simply rolled his eyes at the insult. Mayuri had been hounding him about needing blood samples and other similar secretions, all of which Ichigo had refused to provide. The orange-haired captain knew that it was only a matter of time before Captain Kurotsuchi would turn to poking and insulting. For some reason, Mayuri thought that demeaning his peers would help his various causes. Ichigo just thought it was cruel.

It had already driven his daughter to the third division.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Captain Kurotsuchi has a point." Hitsugaya Toshirou spoke up. "We could benefit greatly from their allegiance to the Gotei 13. This band of exiles—"

"But they aren't exiles anymore, Captain Hitsugaya," Soi Fon spoke up. Grimmjow knew she hated arguing against Hitsugaya. For some odd reason, one especially peculiar to him, the two were like brother and sister to one another. But he liked it when she did; her disagreements with Toshirou always brought out her desire to win. Which was another facet he loved about his captain.

"The Captain-commander has repudiated their banishment," she said, aggressively. "We've had our doors open for a while now. What more do they require from us, a formal apology?"

"It could be a start," Ikkaku spoke up again, opening his eyes to the room. "I dislike the idea of aiding the Vizards, but eventually this emotional baggage will need to end. We wronged them and they wronged us. Perhaps it's time to call an ending to the standstill."

Unohana stood before any of the other captains could respond. She smiled warmly at the room before speaking. "As I said to Hirako Shinji," she said, "we will consider his request. The captains shall meet again tomorrow morning to discuss this matter further."

She turned and walked off, Ulquiorra following her into the bowels of the first division. The rest of the room began to disperse, lieutenants falling in line behind their captains as the group of commanding officers began to file out of the room. Grimmjow grinned as the fresh air of Soul Society began to flow across his chest; once everyone left that room behind them, they were friends again.

Except for Mayuri and his lieutenant, Akon. The two of them practically sprinted back to the twelfth division after every meeting.

"Scary, scary," Ayasegawa Yumichika said as he strolled up alongside Soi Fon and her third-seat. "I thought you were going to bite poor Toshirou back there."

Soi Fon ignored Yumichika's snide comment. She knew he was making a joke, but unfortunately the dark mood of the meeting was still lingering with her. The eleventh division's lieutenant was one of the few people in Seireitei Soi Fon would consider an actual friend, but something about the appearance of the Vizard had left her slightly shaken. Yumichika, on the other hand, was not about to let her bad mood bring him down.

"Oi, Grimmjow," he said, sliding back to keep stride with the former Espada. "Some of us are going over to the ninth division to participate in a 'friendly' sparring tournament this afternoon. Are you in?" The inflection on the word _friendly_was not lost on Grimmjow, causing him to grin widely.

"He can't" Soi Fon interjected before her subordinate could respond. "He has prior engagements in the second division."

Grimmjow looked at Yumichika and shrugged, his face suggesting that the decision was not his to make. Yumichika rolled his eyes and cracked an invisible whip in the air as he turned and walked the other way to rejoin Ikkaku. Grimmjow glared and extended his middle finger to the lieutenant before turning to his captain. The two second division members we soon alone as they walked along the streets of Soul Society. Grimmjow cast a glance over his shoulder before turning back to his captain, his mouth curved upwards into a vicious smirk.

"You know, Soi," he said with a teasing tone to his voice, "I've already visited the Maggot's Nest today. You don't need to be shy about it; if you want my company, all you need to do is ask."

"Grimmjow," she said, her eyes cutting over to look at him by her side, "while I am your captain, it is not my intention by any means to restrict you from participating in activities you find pleasurable." She paused as they reached the doors of the second division. She turned to face him, looking up into his blue eyes. "However, I am in an extremely foul mood. I plan on going home and indulging myself with a hot bath. If you would rather join Lieutenant Ayasegawa in pummeling other men instead of assisting your captain…" She smiled wryly and turned away from him, her silver eyes trailing as they teasingly looked into his.

"That is your decision."

Grimmjow stood outside the division entrance for a few seconds longer before smiling and following her in.

* * *

"Where's Grimmjow?" Hisagi asked as Yumichika and Ikkaku arrived at one of his training fields. "I assumed _he'd_ get here before you guys."

"Captain Soi Fon had 'errands' for him to run," Yumichika said sarcastically, looking out at the group of ninth division fighters warming up. He sneered inwardly at the bunch; he knew a few of them to be seated officers, but nothing above an eighth seat. Members of the eleventh began to show up on the field, but they were also of low rank; Ikkaku had specifically wanted some of the weaker students to accompany them. Yumichika had a feeling that this afternoon was going to be a little more boring than he'd hoped.

"What a shame, too," Ikkaku said as he sat against a nearby tree, pulling a bottle of sake out from under his haori. "It would have been great to sic a couple of these green-gilled officers against him. Builds great character to get your ass handed to you by a third-seat." He took a swig from the bottle before tossing it to Shuuhei.

"A third seat that is easily as powerful as a captain," Hisagi commented before taking a swig of the bottle. He too sat against the large tree, enjoying the shade it cast as the sun began to fall from the top of the sky, his sleeveless haori blowing in the summer wind.

"Yeah, but these kids don't know that kinda shit yet," Ikkaku replied "These academy grads just see us as war heroes; they're probably chomping at the bit to prove themselves against one of us."

The statement was as true as gravity. The shinigami that had stopped the invasion of Aizen Sousuke a quarter-century ago were legends on paper. But none of the young men on the field had been there to see them in action. To these newcomers, the story of Captain Madarame slaughtering the entire eleventh division while under hypnosis, only to have Lieutenant Ayasegawa fight against his _bankai_ without even properly releasing was just that. A story.

"Well," Yumichika spoke up as he finished downing some of the alcohol, "we could always get drunk and let them have a shot? It would make this afternoon a tad more interesting?"

The other two laughed as he tossed the bottle back to the head of the line, Ikkaku catching it and drinking deeply. "That's not too bad an idea, Yumi," he said with a grin. After draining more of the bottle, he stood up and walked over to the men of the two divisions, _Hoozukimaru_slung over his shoulder.

"Oi!" he called out to the group of men. "I have a challenge foryou runts: if any one of you can lay a finger on Lieutenant Ayasegawa, you will be bumped up a rank immediately!"

"I-Ikkaku!" Yumichika called out as Hisagi laughed.

The bald captain returned to the circle and tossed the sake bottle at his lieutenant with a wide smile. "You may want a little more of that before you get started, Yumi."

Yumichika groaned and pulled from the bottle; he knew that Ikkaku wouldn't be dissuaded from the game he was playing, so the effeminate shinigami figured he could at least try and have some fun with the competition. That, and it was a good excuse to polish of the rest of the sake. He killed the bottle and tossed it at Hisagi before jogging over to the ten shinigami in the field ahead of them.

"Hey! There's nothing left!" Hisagi called out to Yumichika, but the lieutenant was already out of earshot. "Son of a bitch."

"Okay, boys and girls," Yumichika called out as he approached the group. He could already feel the sake begin to fuzzy up his brain; this would prove to be an entertaining day, after all. "You heard the captain. If even one of you can hit me, you get a promotion. Ready?" he said, slurring slightly. "Set… Go—"

The entire cluster of black clad men leapt at him simultaneously, snapping to action nanoseconds after being given the cue. This only resulted in half of them tripping over one another as their target disappeared in a flash of _shunpo_. Three of the shinigami were soon pinned to the ground by _kidou_triangles, their panicked eyes looking around in confusion while they struggled to free themselves. Yumichika was hovering above them, laughing softly as the other seven rushed at him in hopes that they would do better.

Ikkaku and Hisagi watched this all with passing interest. Ikkaku had already taken another bottle of sake out; Hisagi had long ago learned not to question where the bottles came from. He would simply continue to assume that Madarame kept them strapped to his belt.

"You think any of them will catch him?" Hisagi asked lazily as his fellow captain passed him the bottle. The sun was sinking lower, staining the sky with a light orange tint.

"Them? Not a chance. Yumi's way too fast for 'em." A moment of silence passed between the two captains as they observed the lieutenant ahead toying with the last two shinigami that were still unrestrained. The bottle went between the two men a few more times, the sun falling ever faster as time silently went on.

"Oi," Hisagi said, finally breaking the impasse. "You trust him?"

"The Vizard?"

"Yeah."

"I don't really care about it," Ikkaku said, not taking his eyes off the training field. "I don't see much of a reason to think the guy's trying to fuck with us, though. Bad blood aside, it should all be water under the bridge by now, right?"

Hisagi Shuuhei closed his eyes, the setting sun casting a long shadow from his body as he sat against the tree.

"Yeah."

* * *

_**author's note**_

_read "so" if you haven't already. otherwise, as you may have noticed, you'll get a little lost._

_reviews are always appreciated._

_**halloween - dave matthews band**_


	2. Butterflies and Hurricanes

_**Butterflies and Hurricanes**_

The girl sat watching another sunrise in another dimension. She was alone on the rooftop of a tall building near the coast of Kanagawa, the black of night sliding away into the horizon behind her as the blues and pinks of sunrise splashed themselves upon the sky before her. The sun was warm on her face as it lifted itself above the ocean, the bright orange circle rising beyond the meeting point of the sky and the water.

Despite her years, she was small; her age was in centuries and yet her body was that of a young teenager's. Her size had always been a source of ridicule and patronizing attitudes; it was something that came along with the ageless body, and a downside that she had been able to overlook lately. According to her boss, she was making great progress in this endeavor; as long as nobody explicitly made fun of her, she wouldn't grow angry.

The man she was meeting with always made sure to poke this weakness.

She could never remember his name. She knew that he was important to their mission, but she never really cared enough about him to keep his name in her brain. He was just a communicator, a messenger. He was the face of their current ally.

She had completed a mission issued he'd issued her last night and she was now waiting for him at a designated rendezvous point. He was late and she was growing more and more impatient as the minutes ticked by; for some strange reason, this guy just enjoyed agitating her. Ever since the first time they'd become correspondents he'd treated her like a child and she was getting sick of it. But she was trying to be calmer, more mature; she'd just been promoted and she was trying to act accordingly with her new rank.

Even if it killed her.

"Oi, kid," a gruff voice called out from behind. "Sorry I'm late. I had grown-up things to attend to."

Her teeth clenched down hard as she repressed the urge to unsheathe her zanpakuto. She turned to face him, hoping the anger in her face was not detectible; if he knew he'd made her mad already, he'd continue without mercy until their meeting was over.

Fortunately, it seemed as though the man walking across the rooftop was oblivious to her silent fury. He held a zanpakuto of his own in his gloved right hand; his left was hanging lazily at his hip. He walked up to her, stopping only a few feet away. She was much shorter than him, the top of her head only reaching his chest. She looked up at his face with displeasure.

"Whatever, old man," she replied, her control faltering slightly. "My mission's done. Can I go home?"

"Not yet," was his response. "I need details. How was the objective?"

"Easy," she replied with a roll of her eyes. "You had me hunt down a middle-aged human. Did you expect me to fail?"

"He is more than simply a human. You need to be careful not to let your preconceptions cloud your judgments, girl." He stopped, obviously waiting for her to blow her cool. When she maintained a still face, her pink irises shining up at him with indifference, he rolled his eyes and continued. "You left him alive, I assume?"

"Yeah," she replied sardonically, her eyes cutting off to the side. "That _was_ the plan, wasn't it?"

He ignored her. "Any slip-ups I should know about?"

"Nope. Can I go home now?"

He smirked at her, his mouth pulling up at one corner as his light hair shined in the morning sunlight. "Yeah, I suppose we're done for now. Tell your boss that we'll be in touch with him shortly."

"Sure. Whatever."

She turned away from him and looked back towards the rising sun. Slowly, she stuck a finger out and jabbed it into the empty space in front of her. Jagged black lines spread out from each side of her fingertip before splitting the sky open, revealing a black portal. She stepped inside of the _garganta, _a bridge of white spirit particles forming in the abyss beneath her feet.

"Yo, kid," he called out once more, causing her to turn around as the maw of the doorway began to slowly close. "Don't go too far. We're gonna be needin' you again real soon."

Lilinette brushed the green bangs from her face before shooting the man a hateful glare. He simply smiled as the irritated Arrancar girl was swallowed up by the teeth of the _garganta._

* * *

Soi Fon's eyes were open as she looked at the ceiling of her room. She smiled lightly as Grimmjow softly snored next to her, his arm wrapped lightly around her naked waist as he slept. He had been spending more time in her quarters than he had in his own lately; this was an occurrence that Soi was getting extremely comfortable with, even if he always slept later than she did.

She slid out from under his slumbering embrace, his arm coming to rest on the mattress as she walked away from the bed silently. She made her way into the bathroom and turned on the shower before glancing in the mirror. Her shoulders were covered in small bruises; the purple and blue crescents were signatures of her lover's teeth. She smiled contently as her hand reached up and rubbed one softly. _At least he remembered to keep them beneath the clothesline, _she thought humorously before she stepped into the hot running water of her shower.

Standing below the faucet, Soi Fon's mind drifted idly. There was a time when she and Grimmjow had tried to maintain a level of secrecy concerning their relationship. Some people already knew, but the pair still made an effort to keep themselves out of the mainstream. Soi Fon had been afraid of scrutiny at first, demanding that the two of them left absolutely no evidence of their lovemaking. Naturally, the ever-feral Arrancar and the dominant captain had troubles keeping that promise. They eventually settled on ensuring that the welts and bruises they left upon each other remained hidden from view. Even with all of Soul Society being accepting of their now very public relationship, Grimmjow still kept his bites beneath her uniform.

Old habits die hard, it would seem.

She hadn't slept much last night. Though Grimmjow had kept her awake for most of it, her true insomnia was due to the fact that her dreams had been busy with thoughts on the Vizards. She kept dreaming about the captain's meeting the next day, and her stance on the exiled shinigami.

Soi Fon felt as though aiding the Vizards would prove to be a beneficial move, even if tempers had yet to die completely. The group of hybrids was extremely strong and would prove to be extremely valuable to the Gotei 13. In her mental debates, she had seen no logical reason to deny their request for assistance; they were once shinigami, after all.

Yet there was something that kept her from being at ease with this choice. Soul Society had always been an overly-cautious place, and the recent betrayals had done a great deal to strengthen this already powerful sentiment. But Soi Fon wanted her reason to be more rational than her fear of treachery.

Perhaps it was xenophobia. Seireitei has always had problems when initially dealing with outsiders. While most foreign parties were eventually recognized as companions, Soul Society was far quicker to attack than accept. Once more she rejected this excuse, her head banishing the thought swiftly. If she was to vote against assisting the Vizards, she would try to argue a point more logical than stupidity and fear.

The door to her bathroom opened softly as Grimmjow walked in. She could see his shadow through the curtain as he approached the shower, his body ambling sleepily through the steam that was building in the small room.

"Mornin' captain," he said with a tired smirk as he poked his head into the shower, his eyes moving up her naked body. "Anything I can assist you with?"

"No," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Unlike you, I have somewhere to be this morning. I can't have you distracting me while I need to get ready."

"But captain," he said with a matter-of-fact tone, his body sliding through the fog and under the water with her. "I have lots of paperwork I'm going to continue to put off." He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him, her ass sliding back against his pelvis under the hot water. He bent down and began kissing her neck, causing her to absent-mindedly tilt her head to the side and close her eyes.

"Exactly," she murmured as his right hand slid down her wet stomach. "We are way too preoccupied to be—" She gasped softly as his fingers hit home below her waist. "To be wasting our time together in the shower." She managed to finish her sentence, even though her body was obviously disagreeing with her. She reached an arm up behind her head and around Grimmjow's neck, pulling his mouth down to hers. She began to move her back softly against him as his right hand continued to work, the left having joined in the effort as it made its way up to her breasts.

She turned quickly to face him, breaking the hold he had on her. She quickly claimed his attention as she reached down and grabbed him with her hand. Her eyes were only half open, but they maintained a demanding glare as she looked up at him.

"I need to get ready, Grimmjow," she said seriously, even though her hand was beginning to move below them. He smirked at her before leaning down and joining his mouth with hers, her hand moving faster and faster as his tongue wrestled with hers. He pulled his mouth away, the smirk returning as she continued to stroke him.

"I can see that you do," he said, his words sounding fuzzy as he became further distracted by her movements. He kissed her again, his hand reaching up and cupping the back of her neck. She broke the kiss with a soft gasp and sank down to her knees, trailing a line along his stomach with her tongue as she went.

* * *

Renji was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he walked down the streets of Seireitei toward the first division. He enjoyed being a captain, but the early morning meetings were starting to get to him. He tried to remember if he'd ever risen early enough to see the grey skies of early morning. He was rather certain that he hadn't— by his own volition, at least. He'd never been much of a morning person; even when he was a lieutenant, Kuchiki Byakuya had recognized that giving Renji assignments before breakfast was a waste of effort.

The fifth division's tattooed leader wished that the Captain-commander would get the message, too.

"Good morning, Captain Abarai," Richiki, his third seat, called out while walking in the opposite direction. Renji waved back at the young man before passing him wordlessly. While the boy had an odd sort of infatuation with him, going so far as to transfer into the fifth from the sixth, Renji still liked him. He was a sucker for admirers, Renji was. He was also really glad that the kid stopped getting tattoos after the first black line above his eyebrow; Renji wasn't so sure he could have handled a younger look-alike following him around.

When the winter war had ended, Renji had opted to join the Hueco Mundo search party in hopes of finding the _hogyouku. _After eleven long months without success, the group had returned to Soul Society empty-handed. Except for defeating a handful of Aizen-loyal Arrancar, the mission had been a waste of time. Renji had even killed the former _Segundo _Espada, an arrogant old man that had wept before his demise, much to Grimmjow's pleasure. But that had hardly been anything to celebrate— there were still two more of the Espada alive and unaccounted for, not to mention at least fifty or so Arrancar.

Immediately upon his return, he was asked to interview for a captain's position. He had protested the request at first, but Unohana had asked him in a way that had left him little choice; while the Captain-commander was extremely patient and forgiving, she had one hell of an intense glare. Renji doubted that anyone could win a stare-down with Unohana Retsu.

The exam for captaincy had been swift. It was already well established throughout Seireitei that he'd acquired and maintained his _bankai, _even having made it combat ready in under a year's time. He had passed the _taishyu_ test and had been shocked when Byakuya, one of the three captains to witness the exam, heaped praise upon him. The other two captains were Hitsugaya Toshirou and Kyoraku Shunsui— both captains were acquaintances of his, either through missions or bar-talk, respectively, and both had vouched for his ability to lead.

In the twenty five years since then, Renji didn't really feel like he'd done much leading in his squadron. In fact, he felt like he'd done more paperwork than instructing. Aside from overseeing the tryouts for seated positions, he actually had little contact with his division members. He let Lieutenant Kuchiki Rukia handle that kind of stuff.

Hinamori Momo had politely declined maintaining her position as the fifth division's lieutenant, instead taking Hitsugaya up on his offer to transfer into the tenth. Renji had felt a small stab of betrayal; he and Hinamori had been friends for so long, he'd assumed that she would have stayed as his subordinate. But it made sense that she would want to leave the division. She had a plethora of bad memories under that roof.

In need of a new lieutenant, Renji had immediately gone to Rukia. His feelings for the girl aside, Kuchiki Rukia was his oldest friend. He extended the offer to her in full confidence of her acceptance, having already brought the fifth division's lieutenant badge with him. His jaw had hit the floor when she said no. She produced all sorts of excuses when he'd asked why, and none of them had made any sense to him. She wanted to stay in the thirteenth; she wasn't fit to be a lieutenant; she knew he was going to be a terrible captain and wanted nothing to do with it.

All ridiculous reasons.

After a year's worth of arguing and begging, Renji finally convinced her that he was indeed a capable captain and that she would indeed be a suitable lieutenant. Even though they yelled at one another a lot, they made quite a duo, and the fifth division continued to thrive under their joint leadership.

All Renji had to do was stop loving her and things would be perfect.

He turned a final corner and saw the group of captains waiting in front of the doors of the first division. Shunsui and Byakuya were talking with one another near the edge of the pack, each giving him a small nod as he passed them by, one captain's nod far more inviting than the other. Renji returned the gesture, but the two had already turned back to one another, so he continued forward.

Ikkaku was standing with his back leaning on the walls of the first division, _Hoozukimaru _propped up against his leg and his arms crossed. Renji made to call out to his old friend when he realized that the eleventh division captain was sleeping up against the wall. Renji rolled his eyes and looked over at Hisagi Shuuhei. His tattooed counterpart was squatting against the same wall, his eyes equally as closed as Ikkaku's. Last night's sake was not treating the two of them well, it would seem. Renji had a suspicion that Yumichika was suffering the same fate.

Soi Fon and Hitsugaya were standing together as Kira sat silently to the side of them. A small nod was issued from Kira, but the other two captains remained stoic as Renji passed them by. He couldn't help but wonder why Captain Soi Fon's hair looked wet as he continued along, stopping next to Captain Komamura before leaning against the wall silently.

Renji had just closed his eyes in thought when a small rock hit him in the forehead. He jumped forward from the wall, his hand rushing down to the hilt of _Zabimaru_ in a blur of movement. Another pebble popped him in the nose as he looked around for the assailant. He didn't need to look very hard as a shock of bright orange hair entered his vision. Kurosaki Ichigo was walking up to the group, late as usual, while tossing another rock up and down in his palm with a devious smile.

"Renji," he called out in a cheery greeting. "How are you this morning?"

"How can you ask—" he began to reply when Ichigo snapped his wrist outwards, the rock slinging forward in a line towards Renji's face. He reached up and caught it in midair, gripping down hard enough to turn the little stone into sand as he grimaced.

"You think throwing rocks is funny, eh?" Renji said, his mouth turned up angrily in a fake smile as his fellow captain began laughing. He grabbed his zanpakuto and began to slide the blade from its sheath. "You know what else is funny?"

The doors of the first division opened then, the massive wooden slabs swinging outwards with a low groan. Ulquiorra stood expressionlessly in his white uniform as the doors continued to spread apart at his touch, his green eyes locking immediately upon the mischievous duo. Renji postponed his assault to look back at the lieutenant, dejectedly locking his sword back into its scabbard. Ichigo sauntered right up to him, his face beaming with amusement.

"It seems as though I got here right on time," the orange-haired shinigami said with a smile. "Wouldn't you agree, Abarai?"

Renji could only grind his molars angrily as he walked into the Captain-commander's meeting room, Ichigo striding merrily behind him.

* * *

"Why can't we leave yet?"

"Because."

Shinji was beginning to grow annoyed with Hiyori's unending questioning. It hadn't even been an hour since he'd answered that same question the first time, and he felt as though he'd answered it at least three dozen times since then. He knew that the captains would be deliberating on his request as early as possible today. He was sure that the meeting would be over by noon and he wanted to be back in Seireitei as soon as he could. He was thinking about how funny it would be to surprise Retsu by showing up on the same day as their decision.

Ignoring his blonde partner, Shinji leaned back on the warm grass and pulled his grey flat-cap over his face to block the sun. He hadn't slept at all the night before. He had been too busy squatting in abandoned huts while escaping the fierce rains that pelted Rukongai. He had no idea what Hiyori had done all night and nor did he care. While the young girl was normally his favorite person in the entire world, Hirako Shinji on sleep deprivation was a force to be reckoned with; every loud word that came out of her fang-toothed mouth was making his blood pressure rise. He just wanted some shut-eye. And after that, they would saunter into Soul Society and shock the hell out of the Captain-commander. _Then_ he would be happy.

A small black butterfly suddenly fluttered up to the duo and landed on Shinji's tie, further ruining his mood as it addressed him in Unohana's voice.

"_Shinji. Seeing that you are waiting patiently in Rukongai for our decision to be made, I invite you to join me for lunch in an hour. The captain's meeting will be over by then and I will have your answer."_

He growled softly as he sat up, pissed to high hell that his prank had been ruined already. His smile faded as he sat up, ignoring Hiyori's questioning look._ Leave it to Retsu, _he thought bitterly as he stood and stretched before leaping up to the nearest rooftop.

"Wait up, you stinkin' geezer!" Hiyori called out angrily below as she hopped up after him, landing on one sandaled foot. She frowned as he continued to walk away from her along the top of the building. She began hopping after him, the remains of her left sandal hanging in her balled fist. "What's with you today, Shinji? You're being a freakin' jackass and it's startin' to piss me o—"

He reached out quickly, his hand slamming over her mouth. Her voice still came out in muffled and outraged screams, but his eyes were focused on a man limping quickly down the street below him. Hiyori noticed him as well, her voice stopping altogether beneath Shinji's palm. The man was dressed in all white, making the fresh bloodstains that covered his outfit even more apparent. His salt and peppered hair was disheveled and caked with dirt, and his pale skin was trembling with blood loss and fatigue.

He was headed towards Seireitei.

"Interesting," Shinji exclaimed quietly, his smile returning.

* * *

"Preposterous!"

Hisagi sighed impatiently as Mayuri hollered in the large room. He had really hoped, perhaps with a rather unbecoming naïveté, that this meeting would remain relatively civil. Or at least quiet, for the most part. Perhaps it was simply wishful thinking on behalf of his hangover. Either way, he was upset that they hadn't made it twenty minutes into the discussion without voices being raised.

Go figure it was Kurotsuchi Mayuri.

"Captain Mayuri," Isane said calmly, her voice sneaking out in the chaos. "I meant no disrespect toward you or the twelfth division. I simply won't deem '_scientific potential' _as a practical reason to aid the Vizards."

"Captain Kotetsu has a valid point," Hitsugaya said, glaring up at the twelfth division's captain. "While it is unanimously understood that the Vizards have an untapped potential, assisting them for our own personal gain is not only selfish, but animalistic."

"And what would you know, child?" Mayuri yelled as he waived an excessively long fingernail in the face of his neighbor.

Hisagi tilted his head downward and closed his eyes, hoping that the scientist's rant would be short this time. His mind drifted back to Kensei Muguruma, the shinigami captain that had saved his life, the Vizard that was the source of Hisagi's conflictions.

Hisagi wanted nothing more than to be like Captain Kensei, going so far as to don one of the man's tattoos on his own cheek. He wanted to stand and be strong and save the weak. And because of that man, who was labeled as a traitor, Hisagi Shuuhei had gained everything he'd ever strived to attain. He wasn't just a strong leader, he was a shinigami captain. He had saved hundreds of people from hollows, just like Kensei had saved him. And his desire to help Kensei Muguruma was undeniable.

But his desire to reject the offer was equally as powerful.

Hisagi knew that he was not alone in his debate between logic and fear; he could see that Kira Izuru was also struggling with the terrors of betrayal. And despite the sorrow it filled him with, it also filled Hisagi with comfort to know that he was not alone in his inner disputes. The two captains were the one of the most effected by Aizen's defection; they had every right to remain cautious, even if only for their own protection.

Hisagi had been a shoe-in for ninth division captain. Unohana had almost given him the position without him attaining _bankai. _But he'd declined that offer, citing that he wanted to be the captain his division deserved and not the one that was the most convenient. He told the impressed Captain-commander that he would return to her when he felt he was worthy of the position.

He was close to acquiring _bankai _already, he simply needed to make amends with _Kazeshini. _The troublesome spirit had betrayed his trust long ago, on that fateful night during his mission in the real world. The night that Aizen Sousuke and Ichimaru Gin had saved his life. He had only recently learned _Kazeshini's _name, but he'd quickly become capable with his zanpakuto's released state.

When the giant hollows had attacked them, he'd reached out to the blonde boy-spirit. It was that night that Hisagi had met his zanpakuto's darker half. The feral child had refused to release._Kazeshini _had told him that this was a test, to see if Hisagi was worthy enough to hold his hilt. After surviving that stunt, Hisagi trained with _Kazeshini _in silence for years, only releasing him when absolutely necessary.

It was apparent to him that the spirit wished to rekindle their relationship. Every time Hisagi would slip and allow his zanpakuto to appear before him, the spirit obviously remorseful in the lack of contact with his owner. Eventually Hisagi gave in to the pleadings of his sword, allowing _Kazeshini _to materialize for the first time. _Bankai _had come very easily after that, and had ended up being the only facet of the _taishyu _test that Unohana had required him to undergo.

And in the years of his captaincy, Hisagi Shuuhei had managed to be everything that he'd thought a captain should be. He was held in great esteem by both his peers and his subordinates. The Captain-commander continuously heaped praise upon him. He'd never been a part of a failed mission. Everything since the Winter War had been perfect for him.

Which made his decision on the Vizards even more dangerous. What _if _they were plotting to trick them? Hisagi did not want the blood of betrayal to fall upon his hands when his vote for them backfired. But he also despised the idea of leaving the former shinigami in their time of need. Hadn't they done enough damage?

"This is bullshit!"

Captain Kurosaki's angry cry shook him out of his thoughts. He leaned forward and looked down the aisle at the outraged captain, arching an eyebrow at the sudden outburst of expletives.

"I know these people, dammit," Ichigo continued, his eyes trained on Kuchiki Byakuya. "They're all good-hearted; they aren't out for vengeance!"

"And how would you know this, boy?" The noble captain asked, his usual disdain for the former _ryoka _as evident as the air in the room.

"Because they helped me control _my_ inner hollow," he responded, his voice angry.

An odd silence befell the room, stopping Captain Kuchiki's argument in its tracks. Captain Kurosaki's hollowfication was a topic that was rarely, if ever, discussed out loud. Ichigo's status as a hybrid was a well known and accepted fact throughout Seireitei; it was this very ability that had enabled him to kill Aizen Sousuke. But for him to refer to it as what it truly was, as a _hollow… _the word left a sour note in the air and a putrid taste in their mouths.

"They've spent the last century hidden away from Seireitei," Ichigo continued, his voice becoming stable in the still air of the room. "Why would they all of the sudden come out of the darkness to attack us _now? _If the Vizards wanted to take us out, they would have attacked us _right after _Aizen was killed. Shinji is way too smart to ignore an opening like that."

"You know I don't like it when ya talk about me," a voice called out from the doorway, "Ichigo."

The entire room spun around to see the three figures silhouetted by the morning sun. Sarugaki Hiyori was leaning up against the frame of the large door, her arms crossed in anger, half of a sandal hanging loosely from her hand. Hirako Shinji had already begun walking into the room, his smile as wide as ever as he slowly drank in the shock of the room.

And slung over his shoulder was the limping and bleeding body of Ishida Uryuu, the Last Quincy.

* * *

_**author's note**_

_after two days of straight snowboarding (with interspersed drunken adventures), what do i come home and do for you kiddies? write up a 5000 word chapter. almost broke my ribs coming of a jump on one of the black diamonds, too. don't worry, though; always keep in mind that i am invincible and will come right back and give you guys more chapters._

_now tell me you love me._

_got most of the next chapter floating around in my head, so be on the look out during the next few days. writing for all of these characters is a blast; sorry to all the grimm/soi fans out there. i'll focus on them more later on, i swear. for now you'll have to settle with that shower scene from earlier (idk why, but the two of them **LOVE **doin it in the shower. can't say i blame em, really :p)._

_as always, **reviews** are appreciated._

_jta~!_

_**butterflies & hurricanes - muse**_


	3. Le Sang des Bêtes

_**Le Sang des Bêtes**_

The room fell into shocked silence as Captain Kotetsu broke from her spot in line and rushed to the injured Quincy. Shinji helped place him in her arms and she hurriedly left for the fourth division. He shot Hiyori a look and a jerk of the head; she rolled her eyes but turned and quickly followed the captain out of the room on both feet, having long since placed her bare foot upon the dirty ground. Shinji turned back around and faced the room. Ichigo had already started for the door, shooting the Vizard a cautious look as he walked out of the division in pursuit of his old friend. Shinji only grinned his usual grin as his former student passed him by.

The blonde Vizard turned and looked at the silent hall with that same undaunted smile.

"This meeting is postponed," Unohana said softly, bringing the eyes of the room back to her. "Until we discover the meaning behind these recent events, our decision cannot be finalized. You are dismissed."

Shinji didn't move an inch as the remaining captains filed out of the room, each one letting their eyes linger on his form as they passed on either side of him. He studied the looks from his peripheral vision, silently and secretly tallying up his supporters. The number of angry glares seemed to greatly outweigh any looks of confusion, unfortunately. Only as the last two captains passed him by, a blonde man and a petite woman with black braided hair, did he begin to walk up to the Captain-commander.

"Hirako," she said softly as he approached, "While my invitation for lunch remains, I would recommend you explain what just happened. Need I remind you of your fragile status in the eyes of the Gotei 13?"

Shinji's smile faltered slightly at her words; he forgot how frightening his old _sempai_could be at times. He quickly regained his composure as she walked along side him, his smile returning as they left the building.

"My my, Captain-commander. You're so scary." He said, flashing a genuine grin at the braided woman next to him. She smiled but remained silent, obviously awaiting his explanation. He didn't dare disappoint.

"I had just received your message when Hiyori and I found him. He was bleeding all over Rukongai; the damn fool's lucky we found him before any of the trash out there did."

"I see," she responded lightly, turning her deep blue eyes upon him. "And what were you doing in Rukongai?"

"Oh you know me, Retsu," he said with a chuckle, placing one hand on her shoulder in an attempt to make her avert her gaze from his eyes. "I always like to be the one to surprise you."

"It seems as though you were successful in that endeavor, Shinji."

They were soon in the courtyard of the first division, the mid-morning sun shining down on the pink and violet flowers of Unohana's gardens. The foliage covered the majority of the remaining damage caused from Aizen's battle, but some of the scars were still visible in the earth. None more so than the large crater that had been caused by Grimmjow's _cero._Shinji stopped and looked over the divot in the field, deeply inhaling the summer air.

_This is the spot,_he thought to himself as he closed his eyes, Retsu looking back at him in confusion. _This is where he was killed._He could almost see the battle with his own eyes, the orange-haired Vizard teaming up with the blue-haired Espada as they killed the man that had betrayed him so long ago. Shinji had received a formal report from Unohana after Aizen had been defeated; the details of the battle had been included along with the letter rescinding the Vizard's banishment. Needless to say, Shinji had only really focused on one of the papers.

"Shinji?" Unohana asked, her eyes showing a touch of concern at his sudden catatonic state. "Is everything okay?"

He breathed out once more, picturing the vengeance he hadn't been able to claim as his own, and opened his eyes. He smiled widely before resuming his place at her side, and the two of them walked back towards her quarters.

"Everything is wonderful, Retsu," he said contentedly. "Now how about that lunch?"

She smiled along with him as they strode out of the garden.

Ichigo stood silently in the room, staring blankly at the man in the hospital bed in front of him. Ishida Uryuu had aged in the past twenty-five years, his hair having gained a fair amount of grey strands, his face holding its share of age-induced creases. He had no idea what to say to the Quincy; the two of them had not spoken a single word to one another in nearly fifteen years.

Kurosaki Ichigo's mortal life had not ended the way anyone had suspected it to.

In the first five years following Aizen Sousuke's defeat, Ichigo had lead a rather uneventful life. As far as shinigami business was concerned, at least. Every now and again he would spend his nights with _Zangetsu_clenched in his fists as he purified Hollows, but for the most part he spent his time studying. His dad had finally convinced him to go to medical school, in hopes that the son would inherit the father's business. Coincidentally, Ishida was in his anatomy study group that night. It seemed that _his_ father was pushing the same objectives.

There were no vengeful shinigami as Ichigo walked home from studying. There were no Hollow attacks, there were no crazed immortals with super-human strength. There was simply a man who'd had too much to drink and a car that had hit a telephone pole.

Ichigo had been standing in front of that very same wooden post.

His spirit had been ejected from his body almost immediately. Fortunately, his extreme levels of _reiatsu_had allowed him to maintain his shinigami form after the accident. Unfortunately, his living body was no longer maintaining its original form. He had stared in shock at his dead body, pinned between blue-painted metal and splintering wood.

Ever since he was a small child, Ichigo had known that there was an afterlife. He'd never feared death, never even felt uncomfortable at the prospect of his own demise. His time as a shinigami had also done a great deal to further callous his view on mortality. But as he'd stared down his own bloody corpse that night, he became too shell-shocked to do anything but cry.

Ishida had come running to the scene of the accident, sensing the extinguishing of his friend's spiritual pressure nearby. The Quincy had been the first to discover the death of Kurosaki Ichigo. He'd also been the first to comfort the distraught shinigami, placing his arms around the sobbing man who had once been his mortal enemy.

It was in the days following his death that Ichigo learned of his father's former captaincy. To say that a fight had ensued would have been putting it lightly. The afternoon of Ichigo's funeral had ended in a father-son brawl to end all father-son brawls; it almost seemed that every skirmish between the two Kurosaki men had been in preparation for this final slugfest. After an hour of punches and kicks, the two men embraced one another heartily as Ichigo promised to return and visit. After all, his whole family could still see him.

But with the exception of a few Christmases, Ichigo had not kept that promise the past fifteen years.

So after over a decade of silence, it was only fitting that Ichigo couldn't seem to find words for the man that had watched his back so many times before. It was even more fitting that Ishida Uryuu broke the silence with an insult.

"Am I to assume that the Shinigami Academy does not provide speech lessons, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo laughed hard enough to bring tears to his eyes; apparently fifteen years wasn't long enough for the Quincy to remove the stick from his ass. And the orange-haired captain wouldn't have it any other way.

"I'm sorry, Ishida," Ichigo said after recovering. "I'm just shocked to see you after all this time."

"The feeling is mutual, I assure you," Ishida responded dryly. "I had long assumed you had died _again."_

"I know, I know. I never visit anymore. I'm sorry," the shinigami replied with a smile. "I have a lot of shit to do around here as a captain." Ichigo stopped suddenly, looking as though he was remembering something as his eyes lit up. "We gave you a key to the _Senkai_gates! How come you never visit me?"

"Because _my_family doesn't live in the afterlife."

Ichigo frowned slightly. He'd been to Karin's wedding, but he'd missed Yuzu's completely. He knew they both had children by know, but he'd never had the time to visit any of them. In fact, he hadn't been to the transient world in over five years now. His frown deepened as he realized that he was once again being a shitty big brother.

"Aren't you at least going to ask what happened to me, Kurosaki?" Ishida asked, snapping Ichigo out of his obvious discomfort. Despite his outward disdain, Ichigo knew that Uryuu still cared about him. For that he was eternally grateful. He looked at his old friend with a serious face, the Quincy's silver hairs shining brightly in the sunlight that came pouring through the window by his bead. The eternally young shinigami smirked and rolled his eyes humorously.

"Well?" Ichigo asked casually, "What happened?"

"You're still so tiring," Ishida said with a sigh. "I was attacked."

"I knew that!" Ichigo hollered, his hands curling into agitated fists. "I wasn't assuming that you fell down some stairs, ya know. You say _I'm_tiring? You're the one—"

"By an _Espada_."

The word stopped Ichigo in his tracks. An Espada. A member of Aizen's forgotten army. The shinigami's wicked enemies of the past. It couldn't be.

"An Espada?" he asked timidly, as if saying the word would open a _garganta_directly in front of him. "Are you sure?"

"Unless an Arrancar with a black number seven tattooed on her back is indicative of something else," Ishida replied sarcastically, "yes, I am positive."

"Number seven? But the reports said that Byakuya killed the _Septíma_Espada back in Hueco Mundo. And _it_ was a _he._"

"Well then," came the ominous reply. "It would seem that another has taken his place."

Soi Fon once more found herself in a foul mood.

She couldn't help but wonder if the two Vizards had planned the whole thing. Appearing in the middle of the meeting with the bloodied body of the last Quincy in tow? What were the odds? If they thought that performing a grand rescue like that would be enough to sway the skeptics, the masked army was quite mistaken. Soi Fon had decided to assist the Vizards up until this point. Now she wasn't so sure. The Quincy's sudden appearance seemed too much like a stage-prop, like he was dragged along to make his rescuers seem virtuous and heroic. She did not plan on tolerating such ridiculous antics.

It no longer mattered anyway— the decision was no longer in her hands. The captains had spent the entire meeting that morning bickering with one another, coming to no definite middle ground; Unohana Retsu had a long track record of making her own decisions in instances like those. Soi Fon knew that when they were called back into the meeting room, the Captain-commander will make her ruling and it would be final. And any captain that protested would do so in vain. It was extremely infuriating.

So Soi Fon had taken to kicking the shit out of her Secret Mobile officers.

She was outside in a training field, surrounded by black-clad men. She had told them that she'd wanted to evaluate their combat abilities, but that was a lie; Soi Fon simply desired to pummel someone with her fists and get her mind off of things. And she figured that ten of her best soldiers would be a perfect distraction.

The faceless group surrounded her as she spun slowly around in the middle of the circle, her lithe body on pins as she watched each one of the figures. She was waiting for any small movement out of the men before her, any reason to begin her stress relief exercises.

Her patience was soon rewarded as one of the soldiers lashed out with a kick. She blocked the blow with her forearm, her wrist twisting around to clasp the man's ankle. She pulled her opponent's leg forward, yanking him into her waiting foot. The moment contact was made, she used his face to launch herself up into the air. She spun as she ascended, both of her legs kicking outward and into the faces of two more men.

Once more using the body of her opponent, she maintained her airborne status as she leapt from one man's head onto another's shoulders. Upon landing she kicked him in the temple with the side of her heel before vanishing in a blast of _shunpo._The remaining six opponents seemed to fall backwards on their own before Soi Fon rematerialized, the small captain standing victoriously over her defeated sparring partners.

She felt better already.

Soi turned around to see Grimmjow leaning against the wall of the pavilion, smiling and shaking his head lightly. She smiled in return as she walked over to her blue-haired lover.

"I take it the meeting didn't go well?" he inquired as she reached him, planting a swift kiss on her forehead.

"How could you tell?" she asked with sarcasm.

"You always beat up the squadron when things don't go your way."

"We were training," she said shortly, hoping he would believe her lie.

"Bullshit." He ignored the look she shot him; he had obviously calculated the risk of that comment ahead of time. He knew it would get him in trouble later, but it was worth it. He smirked. "Come on, captainess. I made us some lunch; you can tell me what happened while we eat."

"How domestic of you," she said with a snicker. "Will you be mopping the floors later?"

"Keep that shit up," he said with a half-assed hiss, extending his hand out to her, "and I'll eat it all myself." She walked next to him, a little smile etched into her facial features. The day seemed to be shaping up, it would seem. She reached down and grabbed his hand, locking her nimble fingers around his. He smiled at her and squeezed her hand gently.

Even though it was about the extent of their displays of affection, she couldn't help but be happy with the contact. For twenty of the past twenty-five years, she wouldn't have even dared to brush up against him in public; holding his hand had been completely out of the question. It was only recently that she'd grown comfortable enough for the two of them to be seen as "together". It had nothing to do with him being an Arrancar, either— she'd never even been seen in public with Hisagi while they'd been together. Public exhibits of ardor were simply something she had never been comfortable with.

Fortunately, he'd been very patient with her insecurities over the years.

A hell butterfly swooped down in front of the duo, the small black harbinger of irritation addressing both of them in the Captain-commander's voice.

"_All captains and lieutenants are to report to the first division immediately."_

The butterfly chirped the brief message a few more times before fluttering off into the clear blue sky. Soi Fon groaned as she turned around.

"I guess lunch will have to wait," she said, pulling on Grimmjow's hand. When he didn't immediately follow, his body resisting as he stayed in place while she tugged, she turned and cast a fake frown at him. "Are you not coming, Grimmjow?"

"You heard the message," he said with a cocky smirk. "Captains and lieutenants only. I'm just a measly little third-seat."

"I like you better than my lieutenant," Soi Fon said with a glare. "Now come with me. Unless you want me to punish you later?"

"In a good or a bad way?" he asked slyly, his smirk curving upwards even more. But Soi Fon had already walked off, leaving the Arrancar to assume that his punishment would indeed be unpleasant, and scramble after her.

He had been sleeping deeply under a wilting cherry blossom tree when he felt the familiar _reiatsu_approach him. He sat up and rubbed his face sleepily in the noontime heat, his eyes remaining fuzzy as the figure in approaching him began to get closer and clearer. He scratched the back of his brown-haired head lazily before standing slowly to greet his guest, brushing his white pants off before extending his hand out to the blonde woman in front of him.

The number one was tattooed boldly on the back of his hand.

"You don't need to shake my hand, Stark," she said calmly to the _Primera_Espada, ignoring his outstretched arm. "We've met before."

"Right," he responded, his voice still murky with sleep. "Halibel."

The blonde-haired _Terceira_rolled her green eyes subtly at her companion before walking away. He watched her go for a brief moment, his eyes drifting down to her swaying hips. Both of them had stopped wearing Aizen's uniform in the recent years, Halibel instead opting for something a tad less revealing. It was still white, though, as was Stark's. Unlike his, however, Halibel's was still rather form-fitting. A trait that would always tend to arouse him from his fatigues.

Among other things.

Stark stretched widely, cracked his neck to both sides, and began following her lazily. He had no idea why she'd wanted to meet in the real world, but he wasn't exactly going to complain; the warm sun was far more pleasant on his face than the cold moon of Hueco Mundo.

"Has Lilinette spoken with you yet?" she asked him flatly, never moving her eyes from dead ahead of her.

"Yeah," he responded carelessly, "she told me about the mission."

"Did she tell you that the Quincy ran to Soul Society?"

"Oh?" His tired eyes widened fractionally and his voice lifted slightly, the altered expressions going unnoticed by his fellow Arrancar. "Did he really?"

"It would seem so," she responded as they stopped at the shore of a nearby lake. Stark had fallen asleep in a public park, arbitrarily choosing a napping spot as he was prone to do. Luckily, very few of the pick-pockets in town could see the slumbering Arrancar. Lucky for the would-be muggers, at least. "Two of the Vizards were also in Soul Society at the time. They found him and brought him to Seireitei."

"Now that's something to get excited about," Stark responded calmly, his voice sounding a touch more vibrant. "And I assume that the shinigami have finished reconciling with the hybrids?"

"That has yet to be determined," she said, finally turning her fierce teal eyes up to him. "One of our informants says that the Gotei 13 are holding that meeting right now."

"And what if they aid the Vizards in the material world? No doubt the Quincy saw Lilinette's tattoo," He replied, his drowsy brown irises looking down at her. "I'm sure they'll be sending some people out here the second he says the word '_Espada'._ They might even come to check out _Las Noches_."

A moment of tense silence passed between the two Espada, a warm wind blowing across the water and pushing Stark's messy brown hair back.

"We may need to act sooner than we thought," she said sternly, turning away from him unceremoniously. "Make sure you're ready."

Halibel walked away quickly, not waiting for her superior's response. Stark watched her leave and turned back to the lake. He was glad Lilinette wasn't around; his small _fracción_always gave him shit for taking orders from Halibel. Not like it mattered, anyway. They all had the same goal in mind; what difference did it make who called the shots as long as everything worked out?

Stark yawned and sat down by the edge of the water, hoping the upcoming battles would be quick.

_**author's note**_

_stark and halibel are so fucking cool._

_the plot thickens, my readers. thickens like a good quiche (sorry, very little sleep these past few days. does anyone actually like quiche? yuck)._

_grimmsoi action there, kinda. a little more sweet that sexy, but w/e. they can't be doin it all the time._

_a lot of fics that have ichigo as a captain either give him a happy explanation for him being in soul society, or they don't give one at all. you guys know that i try to steer pretty clear of "happy" in my works, so... car crash it was. and yes, isshin will make a cameo. that guy is teh lolz._

_mad thanks to all the people that have been alert+ing this story; that means you like it, right? why don't you drop me a__**review**__and let me know?_

_jta!_

_p.s._

_le sang des bêtes = the blood of beasts_

_**le sang des bêtes - joseph kosma**_


	4. Sound Check

_**Sound Check**_

Yumichika sighed as he followed Ikkaku into the meeting room. His captain had explained what had happened earlier to him; how the two former shinigami had "heroically" carried the wounded human into the hall, effectively interrupting the meeting with their flashy spectacle. Ikkaku had been indifferent to the whole event, only idly voicing his concern at what might have been a wonderful coincidence. Yumichika, on the other hand, had been very vocal in stating that this was simply an attempt at garnering favoritism. He thought it was a ridiculous stunt, and was hoping that the Captain-commander would share his sentiment.

And by the looks on the faces of several others in the room, Yumichika was almost certain he wasn't alone in his thought process. The gathering of shinigami before him did not look pleased with the current state of affairs, as evidenced by the frowns and small scowls that adorned their faces. And then there was the bristling fur along the back of Captain Komamura Sajin's neck. Yumichika pitied whoever it was that had been on the receiving end of the canine-like captain's earlier wraths.

He wondered why the lieutenants had been summoned as well; Yumichika wasn't exactly thrilled about being called to a meeting at the moment. He had still been trying to work off his hangover from last night. Hisagi and Ikkaku had started placing bets on how many bottles of sake it would take for him to finally get caught by at least one of the members of their two divisions. It turned out that it takes Ayasegawa Yumichika six bottles to be caught by a very capable third-seat; a little statistic that he'd been quite happy with. Until this morning, at least.

Ikkaku stopped and turned to face the center of the aisle, and Yumichika followed his lead. Hangover or not, scheming Vizards or not, his interest had been caught by the whole ordeal. A pair of exiled shinigami pleading to Soul Society for assistance end up finding the injured body of the last Quincy staggering through the streets of Rukongai and help him receive medical attention?

How beautifully scandalous.

Captain-commander Unohana was standing at the front of the room with her Arrancar lieutenant close behind her, Ulquiorra's eyes closed and hands in his pockets. Both of the Vizards stood to the left, the male of the blonde hybrids looking smug, the female looking bored as she scratched at her nose with her index finger.

"My captains," Unohana began softly, causing Yumichika to sigh. It was never a good sign when she started a sentence like that; it meant she knew someone was about to get loud. "While I appreciate all of your opinions on the matter," she continued solemnly, "I am afraid we did not arrive at a unanimous verdict this morning. I have since taken it upon myself to decide the course of action Soul Society will take considering the alliance with the Vizards."

A round of sighs and groans burst out from the hall, plainly indicative of the room's opinion on the matter. Yumichika smirked as Ikkaku chuckled in front of him— both of them were extremely amused at the upset sentiments their fellow officers were portraying. Neither members of the eleventh division could care less what decision was reached; Ikkaku's interest was completely non-existent and Yumichika's interest existed purely for his own entertainment. The two of them were prepared for whatever was thrown at them, thus making the eleventh's section in line comparatively silent.

Ulquiorra's vibrant green eyes slid open and glared out at the pair of rows. The room quickly grew silent under his piercing gaze; while Unohana Retsu had one of the fiercest glares in all of Seireitei, Ulquiorra Schiffer's was a very close second. And unlike his captain, the green-eyed lieutenant had a history of following his glares with a blade.

"While I _do_ understand that our meeting this morning was cut short," Unohana's mellow voice returning as if nothing had happened. "Certain events have occurred that will force a decision to be reached by me alone. As I'm sure everyone is aware of, Ishida Uryuu, the last Quincy, was found in the streets of Rukongai by Hirako Shinji and Sarugaki Hiyori this morning."

She paused and looked around the room, ensuring that no one looked shocked before continuing. Yumichika was pretty positive that every captain had mentioned this fact to their lieutenant at some point; he doubted that the dramatic entrance of the bloodied figure would go unaddressed.

"According to Captain Kotetsu, the Quincy's injuries were severe but not life-threatening. He is expected to make a full recovery." Unohana paused, and looked out over the room, her expressions growing darker. "Before I say anything else, I want to stress that there _will_be order in this room. All of you will receive a moment to speak; there is no need for an eruption of opinions. Am I understood?"

Yumichika perked up, his interest becoming genuine for the first time since the whole situation began. _What the hell happened that could be so important_, he asked himself, his eyes narrowing slightly as he awaited further details. The others in the room mimicked his actions; even the ever-calm Kuchiki Byakuya had opened his eyes and was looking questioningly at the Captain-commander. Unohana Retsu closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, looking to the entire world like she did not want to speak the words that needed so desperately to be said.

"The Quincy claims to have been attacked by a previously unknown Espada."

The room held its silence for a brief moment, every person in it too taken aback to properly process the sentence that had just flown out from their leader's mouth. The idea was too preposterous for any of the shinigami to grasp it immediately. Yumichika's eyes darted swiftly around the room, his violet irises dancing from face to face as his mind reeled in the stillness of the large hall.

And like the death of a great star, the room exploded into a loud and vicious cacophony.

Yumichika's vibrant eyes widened as they swept around in confusion. Every single shinigami in the room had something to say and they were wasting no time in making sure it was heard by those around them. Lieutenants were debating one another as vigorously as the captains were yelling across the aisle at one another. The uproar was bouncing off the high ceilings of the room and echoing downwards into the fresh arguments below, causing a piercing dissonance to envelop the group and preventing Yumichika from deciphering the jumbled words of his colleagues.

Yumichika's breath caught in his throat as a wave of spiritual pressure reached out like a massive hand and smothered the entire group. He looked up at the Captain-commander, her calm face unrepresentative of the massive force she was exuding upon the room. Some of the captains stood as if they were unaffected by the blanketing _reiatsu_, their jaws only faintly clenching in discomfort as the Captain-commander scolded them in painful silence. Several of the newer lieutenants dropped to their knees in exhaustion, however, their legs having lost the battle to remain locked against the crushing force.

As quickly as the suppressive wave had rolled in did it ebb, leaving half a dozen of the shinigami breathing heavily in its wake. The line of captains looked on remorsefully as their Captain-commander opened her eyes, the faint outrage in her deep blue irises the only indicator of the punishment she had just doled out to them. Most of the lieutenants had regained their composures as well, with the exception of Yasochika Iemura who was still down on one knee and panting heavily. Ulquiorra stood behind his captain, sharing a faint smirk with his fellow Arrancar in the second division. It almost caused Yumichika to laugh.

"Now," Unohana spoke softly, the façade of a smile stretching across her angry mouth. "I have decided that under these circumstances, it would be beneficial for Seireitei to aid the Vizards in the extermination of this new threat. This is a temporary solution," she said, quickly disposing of any opposition before it began. "There are no long-term alliances planned on either side as of this moment; all discussion on the matter of the Vizards is now over."

The group of officers looked around at one another for a moment, each one reticent to speak and incur further wrath from their simmering Captain-commander.

"What course of action would you recommend we take, Captain?" Kuchiki Byakuya asked after an extended silence, calmly posing the safest question possible. "If we are aligning with the Vizards, albeit temporarily, shouldn't our forces convene and plan a joint course of action?"

"Captain Unohana and I have already proposed an idea," Shinji said, stepping forward towards a slightly angry room. The former captain remained aloof, despite the glaring eyes that were focused on him. "And one that you should all agree with. We thought that a team of shinigami should accompany us in the real world to act as an advanced defense squad in case more Espada show—"

"It sounds as though we'd be getting nil in return, _hybrid_," Mayuri interrupted, spitting out the last word. "You get a team of what I could only assume would be our _elite_fighters, and in return you grant us the 'privilege' of assisting you?"

"Mayuri," Shinji replied, recalling that referring to the crazed scientist by his first name irritates him. "You didn't let me finish. Soul Society would send a handful of fighters to the material world with us, and in return…" Shinji paused and grinned, presumably for dramatic effect. "…we would assist you in Hueco Mundo."

The captain of the twelfth division remained quiet, his teeth _almost_hiding behind his thin lips as he frowned. Grimmjow wasn't as silent however, brashly speaking up from the front of the room.

"And what would we be doin' in Hueco Mundo?"

"Looking for the Espada," Shinji said with a gleeful smirk, his eyes glaring down at Grimmjow mockingly."The _current_ ones, at least."

The blue haired Arrancar visibly tensed up at the underhanded insult, his azure eyes burning forward into the Shinji's. Yumichika didn't need to watch this interaction for very long; he could see that Grimmjow's hand was sliding to the pommel of his zanpakuto. And he wasn't certain that the Vizard wasn't opposed to playing along with the Arrancar deadly ambitions.

"Is this the smartest course of action?" Yumichika asked quickly, distracting the two swordsmen from coming to blows. "The last time we sent out an advance squad, we were attacked here in Soul Society."

"Our numbers were greatly diminished at that time," Komamura responded, his large voice reigning over the room. "Not to mention we were fighting against an entire army led by Aizen Sousuke. There is a great possibility that we are simply facing a rag-tag band of Arrancar with a desire for vengeance."

"I agree with Captain Komamura," Hisagi jutted in. "As long as we only send a maximum of eight people between the two dimensions, our forces that remain here should be adequate to stave off any such attack. And with the Vizards aiding us, four shinigami in each squad would be more than enough."

"And who would be leading these missions, captain?" Lieutenant Ise spoke up at him from across the aisle. Yumichika winced inwardly; in Hisagi Shuuhei's long list of "women scorned", none were as vindictive as Ise Nanao. '_Sometimes things don't work out'_was not a phrase that she had taken well to. Every word that came from Hisagi's mouth was rebuked and debated by her as though it was her life's mission. "Are you planning on electing yourself?"

"I am," he said without missing a beat, grinning as his black eyes staring confidently at her. "I think that this is the best course of action that we could take. I _do_nominate myself to lead one of the advance teams." His face grew serious. "And you should learn how to better address your superiors, _lieutenant_; your uncouth behavior looks bad on your good captain."

Nanao looked down at her feet in humility, completely missing the wink Hisagi shot at Kyoraku. Yumichika was biting back laughter as the other captain smiled, and he could see that Kira and Grimmjow were doing the same. Captain-commander Unohana cleared her throat suddenly, snapping the boys out of their playful antics.

"I thank you for your offer, Captain Hisagi," she said, looking out over the room. "Would anyone else care to lead the other team?"

"I will, Captain," Renji spoke up from his spot in the line almost immediately. The room turned to him in surprise; the tattooed captain of the fifth division _never_elected himself for missions. Even Unohana was slightly taken aback, her blue eyes widening at Renji's offer.

"Thank you, Captain Abarai," she said after a brief moment. "This is the course of action we will be taking, then. If the two of you would follow me, we shall discuss the rest of the plan in my office." She turned her gaze to the two Vizards. "Hirako, I will be in touch with you shortly."

"And I'll be waitin' for ya," he said casually before leading his companion out of the room, his smile victoriously painted upon his face as he strutted down the center of the aisle. Unohana turned to the rest of the group as the pair of hybrids left.

"This meeting is adjourned."

* * *

Shinji strolled through Seireitei, ducking through the veritable maze of walls and turns with an unforgotten familiarity. Next to him, Hiyori walked with her arms crossed, looking pissed off. Shinji arched an eyebrow at her disposition; at first he'd assumed that she was just Hiyori being Hiyori, but they'd been away from the peering eyes of the shinigami for almost fifteen minutes. It was long past the time when she should have dropped her guard, the tough-girl attitude leaving with it.

But if Shinji had ever learned anything about his little partner, it was not to poke the bear when it was angry.

"That went well, don't ya think?" He asked merrily, hoping the girl at his side would respond with something other than her foot. Which was still bare. _Ah, shit. _Shinji thought to himself. _That's why she'd pissed off at me. She's still mad about the shoe._

"Yeah, I guess so," she replied half-assedly, her face cutting away from him. "If you like hanging around with a bunch of dick-head shinigami. Why couldn't you get them _all_sent off to Hueco Mundo?"

"Because that wouldn't be very diplomatic, would it?" he responded casually. "And that wasn't the plan in the first place, remember?"

"Still doesn't mean I like it," she said gruffly as the two of them leapt into the air, walking upon the winds without breaking their strides.

"Then we'll just work around them, Hiyori," Shinji said with a roll of his eyes. "It's what we've done for a century now. Just pretend that they aren't there and continue on with the mission."

"But now they're a _part _of the mission, you fuckin' asshole."

_Okay,_ Shinji thought with a frown. _Something's got her_really _worked up._

They continued on in silence for a while, their feet walking quietly through the air. They made it wordlessly until they walked over Rukongai's sixty-fourth district. That's when Shinji stopped and touched his finger to the sky, ripping open a _garganta._As the opaque abyss opened before them, he looked back at Hiyori, at her golden hair shining in the afternoon sunlight. He breathed in heavily and looked down at his feet.

"Hiyori…" he said solemnly, his sudden mood swing causing her to look at him questioningly. "I know what's bothering you. I… I'm sorry about your sandal."

She swiftly planted a foot into his jaw.

"I'm not mad about that, you stinkin' moron!" she hollered as he grabbed at his mouth in pain. Despite the ache it caused, he smirked slightly as she glared at him.

"Then it's Retsu, isn't it?" The words that came out of his mouth could never have been considered a question; he'd known that he was right the second he'd spoken. Hiyori simply crossed her arms and snapped her head to the side. "Hiyori," he said sternly, causing her to look back at him, her brown eyes reminiscent of a young doe's.

"Why would I care…?" she said, her lip pouting out slightly. "About you having lunch with _her_?"

Shinji chuckled softly. He took her chin in his hand and gently pointed her small face up at his before leaning in and placing his lips on hers. She returned the kiss, begrudgingly at first, but leaning deeper into it as the seconds ticked by. Her hands grasped at his shirt as she pushed herself up on her toes, trying to get closer to him. But he pulled himself away, leaving her lips begging for more. She looked up him pleadingly, but he smirked, pulled the front of his cap down tight, and turned to step into the _garganta._

He didn't even have to say anything.

* * *

"I'll go to Hueco Mundo, but I want Grimmjow and Ulquiorra with me."

Somehow Renji had lost a verbal coin-toss. His party was the one elected to go to _Las Noches._Something about how he'd 'gone there more times' than Hisagi had. He was fine with the idea, but he at least wanted some reinforcements of the Arrancar variety while he was there.

"You can't have them both," Hisagi retorted, his voice rising slightly. "They are a powerful force individually; you don't even _need_them both."

"Yeah," Renji replied, faking a pout. "But I _want_them both."

"I think…" Ulquiorra chimed in, his broken silence causing the two shinigami to remember that he was actually in the room with them. "…that Captain Hisagi is correct. It would be more beneficial to split Grimmjow and me between the two groups. And seeing as how these new Espada seem to be targeting the real world, I believe I should also accompany his group."

"Fine, I'll take Grimmjow, but I want Soi Fon with him," Renji said. "They're practically inseparable anyway, no matter how much she denies it," he said sheepishly, noting the questioning look from his Captain-commander. She smiled lightly before nodding in permission.

"Then I believe Captain Kurosaki should accompany my team as well," Hisagi said. "Ichigo has deep ties with the community in Karakura, including the Quincy and Urahara Kisuke."

"That is a reasonable idea," she said before turning her head back to Renji. "Captain Abarai? Your last choice?"

"I want my lieutenant to come with me," he said sternly, knowing that removing both him and Rukia from the thirteenth division would be met with opposition. The frown on Unohana's face confirmed this.

"I do not think it wise to send both a captain and lieutenant from the same division. I hate leaving a division without its leaders."

"I understand, captain. However," Renji said, hoping he didn't sound overly pleading. "Lieutenant Kuchiki and I were both on the original Hueco Mundo assault team. She has experience in fighting the Arrancar on their home-turf."

"Need I remind you," Unohana said with an even tone, "that the both of you disobeyed direct orders while gaining that experience?"

"No, ma'am. I remember." Renji did not like the way this was going. He really wanted Rukia on this one with him. She was his oldest friend and they'd already done this kind of thing before. And this was his first real mission as a captain; he really wanted her there. She was his rock. He _needed_her with him.

"But we were able to greatly diminish Aizen's forces with our tactics. If it hadn't been for Rukia and me, the chances that Soul Society would have won the war are greatly lessened."

Unohana looked at him steadily, her bold eyes staring him down. Out of the corner of his eye, Renji could see Hisagi shift uncomfortably. And his fellow captain wasn't even directly in her line of fire.

"And third-seat Richiki is more than capable of leading the division while we are away," he blurted out, the words almost rushing together. He winced inwardly. He was almost positive that his attempts at confidence had just been flushed down the toilet.

To his surprise, Unohana chuckled slightly and nodded her head slightly. "This is a reasonable request, Captain Abarai. I grant it."

Renji wanted to pump his fist into the air and yell in victory. His staring contest with Unohana Retsu might have been the most agonizing thing he'd ever endured in his whole life, being sliced into ribbons by_Senbonzakura Kageyoshi_included. But instead of celebrating, he nodded at his captain and turned his head to Hisagi, waiting to see who he would pick.

"I would like to request Captain Kira," he said. "Izuru and I have a long history of fighting together, and he also has experience against the Arrancar."

"I'm afraid I cannot grant that request," Unohana said, her eyes glancing up at Hisagi. "In the event that this _is_a distraction and an attack is planned against us, I would like as many captains to remain in Soul Society as possible."

"Then I choose Ayasegawa Yumichika," Hisagi said, taking less than a second to make up his mind. "He has also fought by my side many times against the Arrancar. He has also maintained good relations with Urahara Kisuke and Shihouin Yoruichi."

"That is reasonable, Captain," she responded, standing from her desk slowly. "Inform the members of your respective teams. You have one day to prepare for you missions."

She turned and walked calmly out into her gardens, Ulquiorra following closely behind her as the two captains departed.

* * *

Grimmjow hated going all the way down here. He knew it was necessary, but it was still the part of his job that he despised.

The bottom of the Maggot's Nest.

The Arrancar was the warden of this subterranean prison, therefore he never had to feed any of the inmates. That was someone else's job. Grimmjow just had to inspire fear in the men and women that were eternally locked up within these caverns. Which was rather easy for him.

He was the first warden the inmates had ever seen to carry a zanpakuto.

Grimmjow had told Soi Fon that she was crazy when she'd told him that one of the rules of the Maggot's Nest was that he couldn't carry a weapon. Namely for two reasons; for one, she was nuts to think that any of those unarmed inmates could take _his_zanpakuto from him; and two, she was nuts to think that _she_could take his zanpakuto from him. So Grimmjow Jaggerjaques, third seat of the second division, warden of the Maggot's Nest, strolled through the jail, his blade in his hand.

And not a soul in the prison dared to fuck with him.

A small fight was taking place over in the corner of the main room. Grimmjow wanted to go over there and put an end to it in his own special way, but he didn't have the time. He only had a day left to prepare for his mission to _Las Noches._This proved very fortunate for the pair of brawlers; the idea of returning to Aizen's old castle made Grimmjow want to kill something. If he'd had more time on his hands, it would have been the two fighters.

Grimmjow descended a long and steep staircase, the light around him growing dimmer, the air he breathed growing staler. By the time he'd reached the bottom, he felt like he was in more of a dungeon than a prison. The sound of rats scurrying around, coupled with the faint sound of dripping water was almost enough to make his skin crawl. Grimmjow was glad he'd only been down here a handful of times before; this was only his third.

And they were all because of the same man.

Grimmjow walked slowly down the long hallway of the solitary confinement cells, all of them empty with the exception of the last one. He continued along steadily, finally reaching the chamber in the deepest and darkest and foulest corner in all of Soul Society. He stared at the man behind its bars, the ever-smiling figure that sat on his bed with his ankles chained to the wall.

"How would you like to make a deal," Grimmjow called out into the darkness. "Gin?"

* * *

_**author's note**_

_a little shinji/hiyori in there for enchantable. i wasn't gonna do it, but she was right. every story is a little bit better with shinji/hiyori._

_renji for teh lolz._

_and someone asked "where's gin?" earlier. well, there he is. i left him alive for a reason._

_i've been getting waves of reviews from an anonymous poster that goes by ":-)" idk who you are, but thanks for the kind words._

_**reviews pls.**__i like reading em._

_jta!_

_**sound check (gravity) - gorillaz**_


	5. Aubade

_**Aubade**_

"How would you like to make a deal, Gin?"

The silver-haired man before him lifted his head, his narrowed eyes peering out at Grimmjow in the dim light of the dungeon. This was the first bit of interaction the imprisoned shinigami had received in well over a decade. There were guards that came down daily to provide him with food, but Grimmjow had a suspicion that the black-masked overseers made for absolutely no conversation.

The inmate smiled out from the darkness at his former subordinate; the weak grin stretching across his mouth was ghastly, a former shade of what it once was. It still possessed the power to stir up uneasiness in those it was pointed at, however, as Grimmjow was currently experiencing. Except the discomfort he was feeling no longer stemmed from the distrust of the man in front of him. It was a darker anxiety, causing him to feel more miserable than troubled.

This abysmal solitude had turned Ichimaru Gin into more of a demon than he already was.

"Grimmjow Jaggerjaques," his voice called out in an unsettling mixture of pleasant surprise and morbid disdain. "I haven't seen ya down here in forever. What's the occasion?"

"I have a proposition for you," Grimmjow said sternly, ignoring the odd discomfort that was growing in his otherwise calloused stomach.

"And it would be?"

"What do you know about the new Espada?" Grimmjow asked without answering the question.

Gin chuckled.

Ichimaru Gin had been slated for execution at the end of the War. He had stood a fair trial before a jury of six captains. It certainly hadn't helped his fate that Hitsugaya Toshirou, Kyoraku Shunsui, and Komamura Sajin had been on the panel. Within two hours, the silver-haired traitor had been deemed guilty of high treason, murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy to overthrow Seireitei. Among a myriad of other charges. His execution had been scheduled for two weeks later.

One of the greatest mysteries in the history of Soul Society will forever remain locked behind Hitsugaya Toshirou's lips. A mere day before the execution, the young captain had appealed the sentence before Captain-commander Unohana. She heard his plea and instead opted to lock the man in isolation for the remainder of his long, long life.

Toshirou hasn't explained himself since.

Gin had reportedly spent the first month of his imprisonment chuckling softly to himself, not pausing for sleep or food. The eerie sounds had echoed up into the main hall, causing some of the more privileged inmates to grow a tad tense. More violent brawls had broken out within that month than any in the history of the Maggot's Nest. Two guards were critically injured, and three prisoners had to be killed in the ensuing riots.

Those inmates that were unfortunate enough to share the same block with Ichimaru had suffered even worse fates: Three of the five mentally snapped, their brains turning to mush under the crazy shinigami's incessant laughter. The fourth hanged himself with his _obi_ while the fifth captive swallowed her own tongue.

According to the guard reports, he still launched into fits of manic laughter, sometimes lasting as long as three or four hours before subsiding. It was almost as if Ichimaru Gin wanted this hole in the earth of Seireitei to be one of the last places any soul would ever desire to visit.

And so far, he was doing a great job.

"New Espada, huh?" He asked, punctuating the sentence with a final giggle. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Well then," Grimmjow said as he turned back toward the entrance of the tunnel, his arm rising casually. "I guess you can say goodbye to the chance of ever seeing sunlight again."

Grimmjow walked slowly towards the stairway, his feet sloshing through the thin puddles that littered the ground of this long pathway. He frowned as he grew closer to the exit; it seemed as though Gin was planning on calling his bluff. He _really_didn't want to go back and ask for information again. It would make himself look dependant on Gin, and that wasn't a concept he was too keen on. Grimmjow made it to the stairs and began to ascend, his sandals clicking on the stone of the steps.

"Wait."

Grimmjow stopped at the voice, a wide smirk sliding across his face. He turned and walked back to the bars of the chamber, his hands casually resting in his pockets as he returned to the prisoner. He looked into the cell, his face the definition of impatience as he glanced in. Gin's smile had faltered a little, but it was still eerily adorning his mouth.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice serious.

"There was an Arrancar attack in the real world," Grimmjow responded, his voice equally as stern. "We don't have her identity, but she had the _Septíma_mark."

"How interestin'," Gin said, his smile returning full-force. "Aizen left _Las Noches_in the hands of the top three. It would make sense—"

"We already went through there," Grimmjow said, cutting his former superior off mid-sentence. "Halibel and Stark had left, along with the majority of the _numeros._Barragan stuck around and tried to amass his own little kingdom, but we took care of him years ago."

Gin chuckled at this, the small laugh sounding less crazed than any Grimmjow had heard from him in years. Ichimaru stood up and walked away from his cot, sliding his thin arms through the bars, lightly hanging himself upon them. Grimmjow stepped back slightly, distancing himself from the grimy fingers of the man before him. Gin's smile widened, regaining its ghastly visage.

"Well then," he said with a snicker, "_that's_a turn of events I saw comin'. When was the last time anyone went to _Las Noches?"_

"We sent teams there once a year for a while," Grimmjow said, "but there was never any sign of activity after we killed the old coot. We haven't been back there in almost twenty years."

"My, my," he responded airily, tilting his head back, laughing mockingly as he spoke. "That's plenty of time to build up a whole new army. You guys have gone an' messed up."

"Where's the _hogyouku?"_Grimmjow asked without warning, his voice snapping out against his prisoner's teasing and tittering.

"Oh?" Gin squeaked, his smile fading in surprise. "You mean that after all this time, you haven't found it yet?"

"Don't fuck with me," Grimmjow hissed. "Where is it?"

Gin smile returned slowly as he turned around, the chains on his ankles clattering upon the ground as he walked back to the bed.

"That," he said casually, "even I don't _really_ know."

* * *

"What happened?" Ishida asked as Ichigo sauntered up to his bedside.

"Just like I said," the shinigami responded with a smile, sliding up a chair. "The moment Captain Unohana said '_Espada'_the room went nuts. Everyone was on board with the plan."

"Really?" Ishida asked in shock, his eyebrows disappearing behind his graying bangs.

"Well, except for Mayuri," Ichigo said with a chuckle, his fingers running through his tousled orange hair. "But he never agrees with _shit_ these days."

"Ah," the bed-ridden Quincy sighed, a frown marking his face. "I would have hoped that miserable creature would have been dead by now."

"Hey now. He might still have a few bugs in you, buddy. You should watch what you're saying." Ichigo laughed at his own joke, the man in front of him finding the remarks far less amusing. "At least his lieutenant got away," Ichigo said, sighing in defeat. "She's in the third, now."

"That's good," Ishida replied, pushing his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose. He stared at Kurosaki for a moment longer, his expression darker than normal. It was making Ichigo a tad uncomfortable, the shinigami's eyes shifting slightly under the Quincy's gaze.

"What aren't you telling me?" Ishida Uryuu asked finally, his voice as dark as his glare.

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo replied, his hand once more shooting to the back of his head.

"You've been acting nervous since you walked into the room, Kurosaki," Ishida said with a stern, accusatory tone. "And you seem rather intent on not telling me the rest of the plan that Soul Society has cooked up."

Ichigo grimaced slightly. Ishida Uryuu was always extremely good at reading people. Ichigo hadn't even thought that he was acting any different than usual; the stupid Quincy was just _that_astute, it would seem. Ichigo breathed in and closed his eyes, mentally taking a moment to calm himself to prevent yelling at how annoying Ishida was.

That, and he had bad news for his old friend.

"Okay, here's what's up," Ichigo said with a sigh. "Unohana wants you to remain in Soul Society—"

"I can't do that!" Ishida yelled, cutting Ichigo off and almost leaping out of the bed. He quickly returned to the mattress, though, his still-fresh wounds preventing him from moving too much. He winced in pain and anger, his face contorting as he defiantly spoke against the stinging. "I can't stay here," he said breathlessly. "My family is…"

"They'll be fine, Uryuu," Ichigo said, using the Quincy's rarely spoken first name. "_You_ were the target of that attack, yes. But we're pretty sure it was meant as a message to get to us, and not to truly harm you or your family. Besides," he said with a reassuring smile. "Secret Mobile guys are already keeping watch over your house as it is; your family'll be fine."

"But I can't just sit this one out, Kurosaki," Ishida remarked fierily, "I want to be a part of this, too. I already am! They attacked _me_! Why can't _I_ fight?"

"How strong was that Arrancar, Ishida?" Ichigo asked, his dark voice cutting through the other man's fury.

The fire that had been in Ishida's eyes vanished quickly as he turned his face toward the wall. Ichigo knew that the Quincy had become immensely strong in the past twenty-five years; in order to protect his wife and two daughters, he had once again reached, and maintained, the pinnacle of a Quincy's power. But for some reason, this Espada had defeated him. Ishida Uryuu was not strong enough to defeat these new opponents, especially while he was injured.

And he knew it.

"Then what is Soul Society going to do about them?" Ishida asked, his voice dejected. He was conceding defeat without actually admitting it.

"Two advance teams are going to be sent out," Ichigo responded, glad that his battle with Ishida hadn't been too taxing. "One will go to Hueco Mundo and one will be stationed in Karakura. There will be two captains and two lieutenants in each; I'll be going to the real world, and Renji will be leading up the Hueco Mundo mission."

"I see," Ishida said, once more pushing his glasses up on his face. "When do you all leave?"

"Tomorrow morning," Ichigo said, jerking his head toward the half-moon outside.

"Then you should be getting some rest," Ishida said dismissively, his eyes not meeting Ichigo's. "Kurosaki."

Ichigo stood with a small sigh. He knew that Ishida was disappointed that he was being left out of the battle. The Arrancar had attacked him first, and Ichigo had just told him it was simply to send a message. Ishida Uryuu was a proud man, and an even prouder Quincy— Ichigo knew that this entire thing was tearing him apart on the inside. The shinigami reached a hand out to the Quincy, black meeting white as the two old friends shook hands. Ichigo turned and made for the door, eager to get some rest before the start of the mission.

"Ichigo," Ishida called out, his voice steady from the bed. "Tell me one more thing."

Ichigo turned and arched an eyebrow at the Quincy's serious expression. He had a feeling that he already knew the question that Ishida would ask, that he would want to know about the _real_reason that Ichigo had been uncomfortable in the first place. Ishida's blue eyes bore deeply into him from across the room.

"Is _he_going to Karakura?"

Ichigo winced at the question, knowing and hating that his facial expression had already answered the question. Still, Ichigo turned back to Ishida and nodded with a somber look in his eyes. The Quincy simply turned his head back to the window, his eyes staring blankly at the waxing moon.

"Please," Ishida begged softly, his face remaining in the other direction. "Keep an eye on her for me? Make sure she stays safe?"

"I would," Ichigo said, echoing his friend's words from so long ago. "Even if you hadn't asked."

* * *

"Oi, kid!" The man hollered as Lilinette appeared on the rooftop, breaking out of her _sonído_with a harsh buzz. "You're late."

"Bite me," she said as she walked up to him, her small frame stepping softly across the moonlit concrete. "Any word on our Shinigami friends?"

"Yeah, I just got off the phone," he said gruffly, cutting a sharp glance in her direction. "Which means I've already had to talk to one little brat tonight. So _please_ behave; I don't wanna resent talking to the second one."

Lilinette curled her petite fists tightly in anger, her teeth clenching together in her mouth. She hated this man so much; and she knew he would just get a kick out of seeing her pissed off. So she simply did her best to grimace and bear the annoyance. It would all be over soon anyway. All of their planning was about to be rewarded.

"And?" she asked, hoping that her impatient tone was enough to give him the hint that she wasn't in the mood for his stupid games. "What's the plan?"

"The shinigami are sending two advance teams out," he said. "One's going to Hueco Mundo, one's coming here."

"When is thi—?"

"Tomorrow morning," he said cutting her off.

_Tomorrow morning?_She asked herself in shock. This was even better than she'd hoped for; Soul Society was wasting absolutely _no_time in facing their '_Espada'_ problem. For once, Lilinette was glad that her tattoo was so visible, the black ink standing out so noticeably against her fair skin. If the Quincy hadn't seen the large seven that took up her entire back, things might have gone a little differently.

"Are you guys ready?" she asked, snapping herself out of her trance.

"_We_ are, small-fry," he said as he turned around, walking off the rooftop and upon the thin air below him. "_You_ had better be."

Lilinette growled and simmered, waiting for the man to vanish before she balled up her fists and screamed in anger at the moon. The man was so infuriating! She wanted to tear his pale hair out with her bare hands and—

A small chuckle from the shadows behind her caused her to whirl around, her hand ready to pull out her zanpakuto. She instantly relaxed when she saw the other woman step out into the moonlight. It was hard not to immediately recognize the girl with one arm and the single orange iris.

"Apache," Lilinette said blankly.

The other female Arrancar approached silently, a smirk across her thin face, her differently colored eyes dancing in the moonlit night. Apache had been the only one of Halibel's _fracción_ to survive the Winter War, albeit with the loss of her left arm. She had removed the limb herself when she and her two companions, Sun-sun and Mila-Rose, had summoned Allon, the _Chimera Parca._The severed limb would have grown back naturally, had Allon not met his demise at the hands of the old Captain-commander. Sun-sun and Mila-Rose had not escaped the war with their lives, so Apache considered herself lucky. Despite the loss of her arm, the girl was surprisingly lively at all times.

"Don't yell so much," the raven-haired Arrancar said teasingly, "That's not how the _Septíma_should behave."

"Did you hear him?" Lilinette asked, ignoring the taunts from her fellow hollow.

"The old dude? Yeah, I heard him." Apache walked right up to Lilinette, the two females standing side by side on the flat rooftop. In the dim moonlight, Lilinette could just make out the small tattoo on Apache's neck, the black number that was partially hidden by her dark hair. "Are you guys ready over here?"

"Yeah," Lilinette replied, looking out over the town below them. "You?"

"Of course we are," Apache replied shortly, as if it were obvious. Without another word, the _Novena_Espadaturned and disappeared into the night as quickly as she had appeared.

Lilinette continued to stare at Karakura Town, overlooking the city that would soon become a battlefield once more, and sighed.

* * *

Soi Fon heard the door slide open. She had been asleep, but Grimmjow was never one to make a perfectly silent entrance. Years of being a trained assassin would dictate that she slept with_both_ears open, even if only one eye was.

She rolled over on the silken sheets, her naked skin causing a faint hiss as it slid across the smooth surface. She watched Grimmjow enter the room with an amused smile; his eyes hadn't adjusted to the light yet, and she knew it was only a matter of time before he would painfully bump into something. Moments like these, where the mighty Grimmjow Jaggerjaques was at his most vulnerable, she wouldn't miss for the world.

"Fuck!" his voice rang out in the darkness, preceded by the sound of flesh hitting wood. Soi Fon smiled to herself in the bed.

Not for the _whole_ world.

"I know you fuckin' saw that," he said aimlessly in the dark. "You might as well laugh out loud 'cause I know ya want to."

"And incur the wrath of the _blue-haired demon_?" she said with a teasing chuckle as he approached the edge of the bed, his arms already sliding his white jacket from them. "Why would I want to do that?"

"First of all," he snapped back as he sat on the edge of the bed to undo his sandals. She slid a hand across the bed and touched his arm gently. "_I_didn't make up that nickname. I have no idea who did, but I'll kill 'em when I find out. _Second_—"

She grabbed his arm and dragged him down to the sheets, her lips claiming his in hers as they cut him off. He made a small noise of confusion as she kissed him, but as she leaned up further, he could see that she was naked under the blankets. This elicited a swift change in his timbre, as well as a deepening of their kiss as he leaned back into her. Her hands reached around to his back and dragged him further onto the bed.

"You're late," she breathed between their lips as his hands began to work at the black _obi _around his own waist.

"Yeah, I know. I had to talk to Renji about—"

Once more her lips silenced him. She didn't want to hear about the mission. She was already upset that she'd been elected to go on the damn thing anyway. Soi Fon never understood why she was always volunteered to be sent off in these advance squads; she had plenty of things to attend to within Seireitei. It wasn't like she was sitting around doing nothing. Hearing that Abarai had requested that she join had caused her to be in a less-than-pleasant mood all afternoon. A state that she'd been finding herself in more and more as of late.

Which was why she'd been waiting for Grimmjow without clothes on.

He was her greatest stress relief. She could pummel that shit out of hundreds of sparring partners, but nothing compared to the pure euphoria she got after fucking the blue-haired Arrancar. It had been that way for twenty-five years straight now, and she couldn't foresee any changes in that fact.

Everything about the stridently brazen man was simply irresistible to her. He was loud and he was aggressive. He was everything she kept on the inside. And the greatest part was that they thought so alike; when she found another's stupidity laudable, he would loudly say everything she had been thinking. He was the perfect white to her black.

And she loved him for it.

Theirs was an unspoken love, a bond that had forged itself in the chaos of war and strengthened itself in the silences of peace. She didn't need to tell him that she loved him, just as he didn't need to hear it; they were together and they were happier because of it. For the first time in her entire life in Soul Society, Soi Fon had found someone that she could fall back on without the fear of him leaving her. Her long search for companionship was over, at long last.

She rolled him over, straddling his now naked body before lowering herself onto him. She gasped lightly, the penetration sending streaks of pleasure up and down her spine. She smiled in satisfaction as he grabbed her hips and began to push upwards into her, the two of them finding their rhythm and synching up with a practiced perfection. She knew what he liked, just as he did for her. They were perfect for one another.

Nothing could ever tear them apart.

* * *

Hisagi yawned deeply as the first rays of pink began to stain the morning sky above them. He and Renji had stayed up all night working on their respective mission plans, only getting to bed in the early hours of the morning. Which happened to only be a few hours before they had to meet the Captain-commander for a final mission briefing.

Hisagi generally enjoyed the early morning, unless it was cold outside. Which it was, for some strange reason. Soul Society had been enjoying a pleasant summer for the past few months, but this morning held a lower temperature and a chilly breeze. The beginnings of autumn were upon the shinigami city. Hisagi idly wished that his _haori_had sleeves as a cold wind swept down into the allies of Seireitei.

"I am _so"_Renji said within a loud yawn as the two of them left the first division, "_fucking tired right now."_

"I feel you on that," Hisagi responded, scratching his chin sleepily. "We should not have stayed up that late."

"Hey," the more heavily of the tattooed captains snapped playfully, "at least you'll get a chance to nap at Urahara's or Ichigo's place. I'm going to be in Hueco Mundo in a fucking hour. I don't wanna hear shit from you."

Hisagi chuckled lightly. Not only did he have that added bonus, but Renji's team was being dispatched first. Hisagi's squad didn't have to depart for another couple of hours. Plenty of time to catch some quick shut-eye. The two captains walked along is silence for a minute or so, passing through the empty streets in the early morning of Seireitei. Hisagi's brow furrowed as he recalled something about their meeting with Unohana. Some information that had gone unsaid.

Gin.

"Hey, Renji. Why didn't you bring up—?"

"Ichimaru?" he asked, cutting Hisagi off mid-sentence.

"Yeah."

Renji shrugged. "I'm gonna wait and see if his information pays off, first."

Last night during their planning, Grimmjow had returned from the Maggot's Nest with a scowl and a tip. The Arrancar had offered Ichimaru Gin a chance to see some sunlight if he could provide them with some good information. After what had been a rather lackluster series of questions, Grimmjow had been able to get the reprobate to mention the best possible location of the_hogyouku._While the tip had been ambiguous at best, the blue-haired Arrancar felt it was at least worth looking into.

"I mean, we've already torn that fucking place apart looking for the damn thing," Renji said as they passed the fourth division. "Grimmjow seems pretty set on looking for the _hogyouku,_but I don't plan on spending too much effort on it. Why tell the Captain-commander that we _might_be able to find it? We probably won't and then she'll just get pissed when we come back empty-handed. _Again."_

"Yeah, I guess that's a pretty good point."

Their first mission into Hueco Mundo, while technically a great success, had still been labeled as a failed mission in the eyes of Captain Unohana. She'd wanted the party to return with the destructive orb, but they'd been unable to bring it back. And every search party to step foot into _Las Noches_since then had met with the same failures. Urahara Kisuke's greatest invention had long been considered lost forever.

Renji stopped in front of his division, turning to go collect his lieutenant before meeting up with Grimmjow and Soi Fon at the second division. Grimmjow and Ulquiorra were still the only way for any of the shinigami to make their way into the hollow world outside of the aforementioned scientist, and the two Arrancar would often use this fact to their advantages. Like making Renji walk all the way back to the second.

"Alright, Shuuhei," Renji said as he turned to enter the grounds of the fifth division. "I'm outta here. Enjoy your nap, you bastard."

"Enjoy your endless desert," Hisagi countered as he continued to walk down the street. He made it a few steps before he turned around and looked back at his fellow tattooed captain. "Oi, Renji."

"Yeah?"

"Be careful over there, yeah?"

The other captain smiled warmly at Hisagi as another chilly gust of wind pushed through the alley, causing a shiver to run down his spine.

"You too."

* * *

_**author's note**_

_five in the morning? ugh... good thing i don't have to wake up until one thirty tomorrow. ha!_

_anyone remember that scene in 'the empire strikes back', where han solo asks luke skywalker to be careful before leaving hoth? just checkin'._

_along those lines, an aubade is a song or poem that is supposed to envoke the images of "companions or lovers separating at daybreak." there was one in romeo and juliet, the morning after they were secretly married._

_you guys catchin' my drift yet?_

_anyhoo._

_thanks to all my reviewers, you guys are kickass. and good work, bspv. you know why._

_if you're likin' this story, please__**let me know.**__i tend to write faster after praise._

_jta!_

_**aubade - john kaada and mike patton**__(i really recommend youtubing this song. you'll get a great feel for the chapter.)_


	6. Bydło

_**Bydło**_

Kuchiki Byakuya sighed as the _garganta_closed, his former lieutenant and adopted sister vanishing behind the jagged teeth of the _menos_portal.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Abarai Renji with Rukia's safety— it was quite the opposite. Byakuya knew that for her, Renji would sacrifice his body without a single second of hesitation. The tattooed captain's love for the girl was just that intense. Byakuya could rest assured that Abarai would place his life on the line to ensure that Rukia would return to Soul Society unharmed.

And that's what scared the noble captain.

Despite the rumors, Captain Kuchiki could care less about whom his younger sister was interested in and vice-versa. She was a two hundred year old woman now; who was he to meddle in her affairs? When Kurosaki Ichigo had arrived in Soul Society and taken up the place of captain of the thirteenth division, the rumors had burst through the ceiling that the gossipers had built for themselves. And Byakuya disregarded them all with a practiced air of dignity.

If Rukia was happy, he felt as though he had no place to hinder that. He had done enough interfering with her livelihood for one lifetime— and he had no desire to continue that shameful trend of his. If his little sister wanted to fall in love with an orange-headed human, which she thankfully never did, that was her prerogative. If that tattooed idiot wanted to aimlessly chase after her for the rest of eternity, he would suffer the irritation.

And if Rukia wanted to periodically fool around with the eleventh division's lieutenant, then Byakuya would simply try his best to pretend she'd picked one of the other two men.

So it wasn't Rukia's safety Kuchiki Byakuya was concerned about. It was that of the entire mission. Byakuya couldn't shake this creeping dread that his former lieutenant was going to endanger the whole squad because of his indefatigable love for the girl. Rukia was a capable shinigami and Renji knew it. Yet his love for her would still cloud his judgment; even if she attained _bankai_and became a captain_,_Abarai would always step in and sacrifice himself in an attempt to protect her.

The last lines of the Arrancar's black gateway vanished into the early morning air, leaving Byakuya to turn and calmly walk back to the sixth division. Although he held great faith in the abilities and judgments of Captain Soi Fon and Grimmjow Jaggerjaques, Renji was the elected leader of the mission. If any decisions needed to be made, they fell on his shoulders.

A scenario that Kuchiki Byakuya was growing more and more troubled with.

"Ah, don't worry Byakuya-kun," a melodious voice sang out from behind him, "They'll be fine."

He slowed his pace slightly to allow Captain Kyoraku to match his stride. This was simply an act of respect; Byakuya had absolutely no desire to interact with the insufferable man.

There were only a handful of people in Soul Society that Kuchiki Byakuya could enjoy talking with. His sister was one. And, astonishingly enough, so was Kurosaki Ichigo. He could occasionally tolerate Renji, as long as the stars were properly aligned for the day. Captain Madarame sometimes made for good conversation as well, though Byakuya had much preferred conversing with the former captain of the eleventh division.

Kyoraku Shunsui and his oafish immaturity were nowhere near Byakuya's elite list of companions. The drunkard captain was usually to be avoided like typhus. Unfortunately, the man was _technically_Byakuya's superior, and his childish antics would have to be tolerated.

"I never implied that they wouldn't be," Byakuya replied calmly as he cast a brief glance toward the man to his right.

"But I can see the concern in your face," Shunsui replied, his face widening in a friendly smile. "Can't you, my Nanao-chan?"

Byakuya breathed a small sigh of relief as the female lieutenant simply rolled her eyes and ignored her captain. If there was one part of the eighth division that he _could_ respect, it was Ise Nanao. The second seat had to be the most strong-willed person Byakuya had ever encountered; if she could tolerate Kyoraku Shunsui for over a century, he figured, she could live through _any_of life's atrocities. He sometimes wondered if the bespectacled young woman would even bat an eyelash at a burning hospital.

"I have no idea as to what you are referencing, Captain Kyoraku," Byakuya said stoically, silently thanking the stars that the other captain hadn't begun to drink yet; sunrise was still too early for this man to begin imbibing, it would seem. "I was simply here to see my younger sister off."

Shunsui looked hurt. "You don't need to lie to me, Byakuya-kun," he said, pushing the brim of his straw hat up with a thumb. "I've known you since you were just an angry little boy. I can still see emotion behind those stony features of yours."

"I have no idea as to what you are referencing," Byakuya repeated as he stopped suddenly, eliciting a small and questioning noise from his pursuer. "I have things I must attend to. I wish you a good day, Captain Kyoraku. Lieutenant Ise."

After a brief bow, Byakuya took an immediate turn to his left, knowing full well that it did not lead to his division. As long as he left his present company behind, he could care less as to where this street led to.

At least his mind was no longer on the Hueco Mundo mission.

* * *

"Fucking wonderful."

Renji growled slightly as his advance team stepped out of the _garganta_and into a raging sandstorm. He brought his hand up to his face in an attempt to cover his eyes and mouth, but the shield was futile against the grains of sand that were pelting his flesh. Rukia shot him a distressed look, which only served to further place the tattooed captain on edge. He looked over to his right at Grimmjow and Soi Fon, noticing that the Arrancar was looking equally as upset about their situation.

"What the fuck, Grimmjow?" Renji hollered out over the brutal winds. "You couldn't have gotten us anywhere closer to _Las Noches_? Like _inside_of it?"

"Something was fuckin' with my _garganta,"_Grimmjow responded, his blue eyes shooting daggers at Renji through the torrent of desert sand in the air. "This was a good as I could get us."

"We can't even _see_ _Las Noches,"_Renji shouted back. "How the fuck are we supposed to _get_ there?"

"I'm pretty sure it's this way," Grimmjow said, nodding his head forward.

"You're _pretty sure?_I don't want to walk ten miles through a goddamn sandstorm only to find out that I've been going the wrong goddamn way!"

"It's not my fuckin' fault!"

Renji sighed. He knew he shouldn't be yelling at the Arrancar. When they went on their first mission to _Las Noches_together, Grimmjow had been able to open his _garganta_within the walls of_Las Noches_before. Considering this, Renji believed the blue-haired man when he said that something had been interfering with the portal.

Renji was just upset that the mission had already taken a turn for the worse. They were less than a minute in and they were already caught in a sandstorm in the middle of the desert. And seeing as how this was his first mission as a Captain, Renji wanted everything to go as smoothly as possible. As unlikely a possibility as that was.

"I'm sorry," Renji said through the wind, his head turning to where Grimmjow had been pointing. "Let's get going."

"I thought we were meeting up with the Vizards?" Rukia asked, burying her face into the bend of her elbow.

"I'm sure they'll find us," Renji said with a dismissive wave, his feet already leaving a lengthening trail in the sand below. The rest of the group exchanged quick glances before following their appointed leader.

As irritating as this was, it was really only a minor setback. Renji could deal with a small sandstorm. And as for meeting up with their promised pair of Vizard escorts, Renji could care less about them. If he could get his team in and complete the mission without their aide, then all the better. Assuming that they could even get through this hellacious storm, of course. He doubted that the hybrids' _garganta_had gotten them any closer than Grimmjow's.

Renji stopped suddenly, a jarring thought reaching into his mind. Although painfully obvious, he'd just made the connection. Grimmjow having his _garganta_messed with could only mean one thing—

The Espada knew they were coming.

He swore under his breath as he began to drudge forward again, his team following behind silently through the grinding winds that ripped at their clothes and tore at their skin. _Of course_they were being expected; they practically sent them an invitation when they'd thrashed Ishida. Getting into _Las Noches_was going to take a bit more finesse than he'd thought. They would have to be a hell of a lot more subtle than he'd originally planned. Breaking through the walls hadn't worked all that well last time he'd tried it.

This was a rather unfortunate oversight on Renji's part, and he once more cursed himself in the nocturnal desert.

"You guys look lost!"

The four spun around, their hands snapping down to their weapons, their eyes squinting against the storm. Through the sand, they could see that another _garganta_had formed behind them. Stepping out of it was a young woman dressed in an all white jumpsuit with an orange scarf around her neck and a pair of goggles jetting out from her short green hair. Behind her was a sour-faced man with clean-cropped white hair and an eyebrow ring. They were both carrying zanpakuto.

_These must be our Vizard companions,_Renji thought with a frown as his hand slid away from the hilt of _Zabimaru._He had actually been hoping that they wouldn't show. He didn't want to look like he needed help on his mission. _Wonderful._

"See Kensei?" the girl said over her shoulder as she bounced over to the group, seemingly ignorant to the ripping winds of the desert storm. "I bet they couldn't get any closer _either."_

Her disgruntled-looking companion simply rolled his eyes in agitation and walked up to Renji. He stuck out a gloved hand in a rather unceremonious fashion, staring the captain in the eye. Renji looked down at the offering with a raised eyebrow before roughly taking the outstretched hand in his own.

"Muguruma Kensei," the Vizard said gruffly. "That dummy behind me is Kuna Mashiro. We're here to help your asses out."

"Don't say it like that, Kensei-meanie!" the girl yelled, sticking out her tongue. "Otherwise they won't like us!"

"I'm sure you've already been briefed on our names," Renji replied shortly as he released Kensei's hand, maintaining a fierce eye contact. Renji _really_didn't want these two tagging along. And he wanted to make sure they knew it. The Vizard across from him simply smirked while returning the glare.

"See?" Mashiro's voice rang out merrily as she shook Rukia's hand. "They already hate you."

* * *

Grimmjow watched through the sandstorm as the tattooed Shinigami and the white-haired Vizard attempted to outrun one another to the palace of _Las Noches._

When the mission began, Grimmjow had assumed that _he_was going to be the one locked in the masculine power-struggle with Captain Abarai. He had still been entertaining the idea an hour ago. But after watching these two men try to not-so-subtly race each other for the head of the line, Grimmjow realized that he had absolutely no desire to claim the role of leader. He was fairly certain that after an hour of the incessant, back and forth power-walking, _he_wouldhave definitely surrendered the role of alpha-male.

But the two of them just kept on goose-stepping through the desert, each as determined to stay in the lead as the other.

"I think we're going the wrong way!" Mashiro called out from the back of the line, her face the definition of a pout as she dragged her feet in the sand.

"Shut up!_"_

The two march-leaders turned and yelled in unison, exactly like they had the last three times the girl had made this statement. Grimmjow swore that the next time she said it, he would join in. The Vizard girl was really getting on his nerves. And, judging from the looks on Soi and Rukia's faces, they were starting to feel the edge of agitation as well.

And Grimmjow couldn't exactly blame them, either. It wasn't Mashiro's fault that the group was feeling so tense; they had been walking through a relentless and blinding sandstorm for over an hour. Which shouldn't be correct— Grimmjow couldn't really remember a spot in Hueco Mundo that was outside of walking-distance from Aizen's fortress. So either the group _was_walking in the wrong direction, or the_garganta_barrier around _Las Noches_had dumped them in the absolute middle of nowhere.

And neither of those situations made him feel optimistic.

Grimmjow looked to his left, casting a small smile at Soi Fon. She returned it quickly before turning her face back forward. He made a sideways face at her frustration; usually a smirk from him could get at least _three_seconds of smile out of his usually steel-mouthed captain. Apparently the arduous journey was taking a far rougher toll than he'd imagined.

He didn't understand the big deal. Sure it was a pain in the ass to walk around in the middle of a sandstorm, but that didn't mean it was the end of the fuckin' world. The only real inconvenience was that they couldn't see which direction they were going. But Grimmjow had, more or less, grown up in this desert; eventually the sands would make their way back down to the ground and they'd be able to see again. Until then, it was just a few hours of discomfort.

Really no big deal.

It took another fifteen minutes, but the air finally stilled around them, the painful winds dropping the sand to their feet. The ever-crescent moon shone out from behind thin clouds, casting a faint light upon the newly visible landscape.

And off in the distance, peeking just above the horizon, were the pale white minarets of _Las Noches._

Silence descended on the group as they looked out towards the castle, their intended destination _much_further away than any of them had expected it to be. Grimmjow had thought that the tension earlier had been powerful. He could now see that these thoughts had been naïve; the current silent strain upon the group was far more ominous. One look at Renji ensured that the moment of silence would remain for quite some time. The pumping blood vessels in his forehead were rivaling his tattoos for surface-area dominance. Kensei's face held an equally furious look, the white of his hair reflecting the red of his skin. Only an absolute fool would even _utter_ a sound right now.

"I _told _you we were going the wrong way!"

Ah, Mashiro.

"_Shut up!"

* * *

_

As the second hour passed, Soi Fon began wondering if they were getting any closer to _Las Noches_. From the look of the small white structure on the horizon, she doubted it greatly.

Soi Fon had never been to the hollow world before, so she'd never _actually_ seen the great palace of Hueco Mundo with her own eyes. From the reports she'd read, however, she had gathered that the castle was truly gargantuan; every single account from the Shinigami that had been here before had described it as a massive compound that would stretch from one end of the horizon to the next. A simple walk around its perimeter was said to take at least six days.

The fact that this colossal palace still looked as small as a simple house from her vantage point was an extremely disquieting detail.

No one had spoken much since the end of the sandstorm. After the Vizard girl had exclaimed her astute observations on the matter of their previous direction, not much had needed to be said. Renji and Muguruma Kensei had made it extremely apparent that they were in no mood for conversation. Grimmjow had spoken to her quietly and briefly earlier, but that had been almost an hour ago. Rukia had attempted to shoot a joke at the expense of her captain, but one glance from her old friend had been enough to keep the noble girl from making any further noises. After this, the only sound to have come from the six figures had been the shuffling of sand beneath tired feet.

As they continued on, plodding laboriously through the vast nocturnal desert, Soi Fon once more found herself wondering who in the hell had signed her up for this fucking mission in the first place. She hoped, for Abarai's sake, that it had been Unohana that had suggested she come along. If she got back to Soul Society and discovered that Renji had brought her along because he needed Grimmjow, she was going to rip his tattoos out.

The three demi-hollows in the group suddenly stopped and looked around. The three remaining Shinigami walked ahead slightly, before also halting their progress. Soi Fon looked at Grimmjow questioningly, the wind pulling at her braids as she tried to make eye contact with him. Instead of meeting her gaze, he was looking at Kensei, whose hand was sliding down to the hilt of his zanpakuto. Soi looked over at Mashiro, noticing that the bubbly girl had lost all of her playful attitude from before; a stone-faced woman now stood in her place, her hand gripping tightly on her sword's handle as the trio of hybrids looked out at the desert, their eyes searching.

Soi Fon exchanged a look with her fellow captain. Renji gave her a slight nod as he reached down to his hip and twisted his wrist, unlocking his zanpakuto. A small click behind her signaled that the Kuchiki girl had done the same. Soi herself kept her hand at the ready, preparing to reach around to the small of her back and withdraw her own blade at a moment's notice. She couldn't sense whatever it was that had placed the other three on edge, but she could read Grimmjow's face like a book. It was a hollow. She knew that it was near, and that it was keeping the three half-hollows on edge.

The softening winds continued to blow across the endless, moon-drenched dunes, ushering a lonely howl through the desert and into their ears.

Nothing happened.

After a minute of strained stillness, the group relaxed slightly. Grimmjow shot her a reassuring look as his hand slipped away from the handle of his weapon. Once more they began to move, Renji using his more advanced position to finally claim the lead of the group. As they walked, it felt as though a small bit of the tension had been lifted from the group; despite their differences, they had been ready to fight as one in that very instance. No matter what, they all held a common enemy in the new army of Arrancar.

The massive explosion came from directly beneath them, sending a column of sand high into the air. Soi Fon was temporarily blinded by the debris, but she could feel her body being lifted into the sky along with the plume of dust. She continued to fly higher and higher as she instinctually grasped out for her zanpakuto. To her horror, she could not feel it. The blast had destroyed the tether that had held it against her back. She cursed silently as she felt gravity regain its hold on her body, and she began to plummet downward.

In her fall, she caught a glimpse of bright red. Through the sand and dirt she could make out the flailing form of Renji. He was unconscious, but he looked otherwise unharmed. Whatever had caused the explosion, it only seemed to have displaced the ground beneath them.

And her fucking sword.

Soi Fon braced herself for the impact against what she assumed would be solid ground. But to her astonishment, the rough collision she'd been expecting did not occur. Instead, she felt herself fall through the desert floor and into the massive catacombs below. She looked around in shock as she continued her free-fall; massive crystalline pillars reached up into an endless canopy of earth. Below her was an inky darkness that stretched out for miles, the floor of this subterranean world shrouded in distance and fog.

Soi Fon was so caught up with the dismal view below that she failed to notice the torrent of sand that had begun to fall towards her. As it slammed into her petite body, her mind fell into a darkness as deep as the one that enveloped the floor of the Menos Forest.

* * *

A room filled with silent and observant eyes watched this event unfold upon a large screen within the bowels of _Las Noches._

Sitting around a large table, hidden deep within the ruined castle of Aizen Sousuke, the eight members of the Espada turned away from the surveillance. Stark looked around the room, his eyes staying briefly on the two empty spots within their ranks. They were still missing their _Segundo_and _Quarta._It didn't really matter to him; those spots would be filled soon, one way or another. With a yawn, he turned his attention to the rest of the elite Arrancar in the room, watching sleepily as Halibel stood to address them.

"It seems that the Shinigami and the Vizards have begun their invasions," she said sternly, her frightening mask exposed to her fellow Espada. "The Hueco Mundo team is currently disposed of. If they happen to escape from the Menos Forest, we will deal with them accordingly; wait for further orders."

Six of the Arrancar stood from their seats, Stark watching them as they began to leave the room. He and Halibel had hand-picked these warriors; he had absolute faith that their long awaited victory against the Shinigami would come about at the hands of their new army.

After all, each one of them had been strengthened by the _Hogyouku._

The Shinigami believed that the powerful artifact still remained hidden within the bowels of this fortress. A foolish notion. But considering how hard they'd searched for it, it was not an unforgiveable mistake. Halibel had taken it as she'd left _Las Noches_after Aizen's defeat, leaving Stark to vanish on his own. But after a while, she'd sought him out with a plan.

"Lilinette," Stark said, stopping the young _Septíma_as she was walking out of the meeting room. His old _fracción _turned and looked at him, a brief glance of irritation prevalent in her pink irises.

"Yeah?"

"Your _Fracción_are prepared to move into the transient world?" The question was futile; he knew that she'd prepared a week ago for their attack. He just liked teasing her.

"For the last time," she growled, a crease forming in anger along her forehead. "Yes. _Everything_ is ready to go."

"I'm glad to hear this," Stark replied lazily. "Do me one favor?"

She rolled her eyes, but looked at him expectantly. He knew she still considered him _her_ Espada, a fact that he would take advantage of every so often. He smiled at her, his mouth curving upwards with a glimmer of vibrancy.

"I want you to accompany them."

Out of the corner of his eye, Stark could see Halibel start at the request. It was going against their plans, but he didn't care. Life evolves at an alarming rate. He figured that he, too, should change things up every once in a while.

"_What?"_the girl snapped out. "Why do I need to go with them? They can handle things without me."

"Yes, but I _want_ you to go along with them," Stark replied. His face suddenly took on a feigned expression of hurt. "You know that I trust you the most. You wouldn't want me to give this task to someone else, would you?"

"No," her response was almost a whisper. Stark continued as if he hadn't heard her.

"Perhaps I should ask Tesla to handle this? I know that he's been—"

"I said I'd do it, _alright_?"

Lilinette glared at him for a moment before dashing out of the room. Stark knew that Lilinette still greatly desired his praise. Yet another aspect of his former adjutant he greatly enjoyed toying with.

"What was that?" Halibel asked after the _Septíma_had left the room.

"I have a few ideas milling around up here," Stark said as her stood from his chair and looked at her, tapping the side of his head with a gloved hand.

"I see," she said casually, her indifferent tone wavering slightly as it melded with repartee. "Did you _dream_ them?"

"Ever the sharp wit," he said as he walked towards the door, "Halibel."

"Where are you going?"

He yawned as he stepped out of the room, raising a dismissive hand before disappearing around the corner.

* * *

_**author's note**_

_sorry about the late update. as i'm sure some of you noticed, the site was all messed up for a minute there. with that extra time i decided to split this chapter into two parts, one for each team. good thing too; i think it's a little more streamlined this way._

_we'll get to the other guys next chapter, i swear._

_bydło is polish for "cattle". the piece of music i named this chapter after is supposed to envoke the image of oxen pulling a heavy cart through some mud. it's what i felt like for our heroes in the sandstorm._

_also, mashiro is teh lulz._

_thanks to everyone who has reviewed thus far. i greatly appreciate them all. also thanks for all the__**+favs**__, too. if you havent reviewed yet, or are too lazy to (you know who you are), or only__**+fav**__instead of review (I know who you are), please press those wonderful green letters at the bottom of the chapter and change this trend of yours.__**reviews make my world go 'round.**_

_droppin it like it's hot,_

_jta._

_**bydło - modest mussorgsky**_


	7. Sirènes

_**Sirènes**_

Hisagi stepped out into the back lot behind the Urahara shop, stretching in his new _gigai._He absolutely hated getting in these things for the first time; they were always so _stiff._Yumichika soon followed him out of the shop, prancing slightly in his own fake body as he exited into the lot.

The afternoon sun was beating down hotly on the duo, eliciting a small groan from the shinigami captain. He only hoped that things would go smoothly from here on out; Hisagi wanted this threat to be destroyed as quickly as possible. He was, after all, enjoying the peaceful era that Soul Society was currently in. And he wanted to return back to it as soon as possible.

Hisagi Shuuhei felt as though he'd seen enough turmoil for one lifetime.

"I always forget how nice it is in the transient world," Yumichika said in his usual blithe manner. "Karakura is such a beautiful city."

"Yeah, if you like things hot and smoggy," Hisagi quipped back, running a hand along the back of his neck. He grunted as he pulled his arm away; he could already feel the sweat beginning to form on his skin.

"At least it's better than Hueco Mundo. I wouldn't go back there in a million years."

"You never even went there in the first place," Hisagi said, whipping his head around to look at his companion.

"I know, but I've imagined how terrible it is," came the casual reply, the lieutenant looking merrily up at the clear blue sky. "No sunlight? How ugly."

Hisagi shook his head and chuckled. "What's with you all of the sudden?"

"Can't you feel it?" Yumichika asked as he looked away from the atmosphere, his eyes taking on a gleeful look. "Something's gonna happen— and soon. The Espada have to know we're here; it's why they left that Quincy alive. To provoke us. And I've been so bored with all the paperwork back home. I've been itching for a good fight for almost a decade, now."

Hisagi laughed, his head also tilting up to gaze at the skies above. It was so easy for him to forget that Yumichika was as battle-crazed as his captain. Even if he hid it well behind his feminine exterior, which he_did,_Ayasegawa Yumichika was still the lieutenant of the eleventh division. That was not a title one could hold without an extreme lust for fighting.

The door behind them slid open and the rest of the team walked into the lot, followed by Urahara Kisuke.

Ulquiorra had refused to wear a _gigai,_claiming that he had no desire to look like a human _for_the sake of humans. Ichigo had argued against the pale Arrancar for only a minute before giving up. Ichigo's style of debating was always to yell loudly. No matter what the cause, the orange-haired captain would simply raise his voice and hope that his opponents would change their minds. Ulquiorra had never been one to succumb to such tactics.

Hisagi hadn't really seen much of a difference. It wasn't like any normal humans could see the Arrancar, anyway.

"Aside from poor Uryuu," Urahara said in a sing-songy voice, "I haven't seen any other Arrancar."

"Any other odd hollow behavior?" Ichigo asked his old mentor, continuing their conversation.

"Other than an overall increase," the former exile said, pushing his green and white bucket hat further down on his head, "I would have to say no."

"Have they gotten any stronger?" Yumichika asked from the edge of the concrete deck. "Or just more numerous?"

"Just more numerous. Jeez," the scientist sighed. "Didn't Hirako tell you guys about this stuff before you all came here?"

A small red object suddenly smacked Urahara in the back of the head, knocking his recently repositioned hat onto the ground. A short and angry blonde girl traipsed out into the summer heat, her face turned up in a sneer.

"Don't ask them stupid questions, dummy," Hiyori hollered out at her former captain. "You know Shinji didn't tell anyone shit. He's too lazy to go into detail._"_

"I'm not being lazy!" Shinji called as he followed his fellow Vizard out into the afternoon sunlight. "It's enigmatic! _Enigmatic!"_

"Ah, Hiyori, Shinji," Urahara responded merrily, bending down and scooping up the fallen hat without missing a beat. "You've arrived."

"Of course we've arrived, you stinkin' moron! You asked us to get here in the afternoon, didn't ya?"

"I said sometime after _noon_," Urahara replied with a pleasant grin, pointing his index finger upwards. "It's almost dinner time now."

Hisagi rolled his eyes and turned away from the budding argument. He had no desire to watch some ill-timed display of comedic relief. Despite Hirako Shinji's ominous entrance into Soul Society a few days ago, he had done nothing but prove himself to be a clown since the mission had begun. Shuuhei had no doubt concerning the Vizard's abilities, though. Shinji had once been a very powerful captain, and now he was a Vizard. If Ichigo's strength was at all indicative of the power-boost a Shinigami received after the hollowfication process, Hirako Shinji was indeed a force to be reckoned with.

But he was still acting like a clown.

Hisagi looked over at the members of his squad, seeing that they were also ready to become removed from their current situation. Yumichika was even looking away from the trio of jesters, his arms crossed and one side of his lips curved up in scorn.

"Ichigo," Hisagi said sternly, taking up his role as leader. "Go talk to your father and sisters. See if they've noticed anything strange."

"Right," Ichigo said with a small frown. "Although I'm not sure how happy they'll be to see me after all this time." With that, the orange-headed Shinigami turned and walked away, casting a brief and suspicious glance over his shoulder as he went.

He also dodged a low kick from the still-yelling Vizard girl.

"You two should—"

"Check out the town for fishy behavior," Yumichika said quickly as he began to follow Ichigo out the door. "Got it."

"Wait, Yumi…" Hisagi stuttered in an attempt to get the lieutenant to return, but it was in vain. Ayasegawa Yumichika seemed to have his own mission in mind, and Hell itself wasn't going to stop him. Hisagi simply rolled his eyes indifferently. He wasn't worried about his friend's aloof behavior; he knew that Yumichika would be the first one to front lines if anything happened.

Hisagi turned to Ulquiorra, but the Arrancar had already vanished from sight. Ulquiorra Schiffer was never much one for one-on-one time anyway. Hisagi shrugged and took his leave. The first division's lieutenant would be ready to fight when the time came. There was no need to worry about him until he was needed.

As the captain of the ninth division stepped out into the busy streets of Karakura Town, he let himself vanish into the crowds, his mind idly searching for the presence of the Espada.

* * *

"Thank you for inviting me to tea," Kyoraku Shunsui said with a vibrant smile, his cheeks pushing up and closing his eyes, "Retsu."

"Shouldn't you address me more formally, Kyoraku?" She asked with a warm smile, placing her small cup down on the table in front of her. "I am the Captain-commander, after all."

Shunsui simply responded with a small chuckle. He knew that Retsu should know better. Even when she had been his captain all those years ago, he never referred to her by anything other than her given name. He always felt that Unohana was far too soft of a name for his old _sempai._Retsu sounded far more deadly, and therefore, far more befitting for her.

The two oldest captains in Soul Society sat across from one another outside in the first division's gardens, bathed in the deep orange of the setting sun. In the fading light, Unohana's flowers looked magnificent; no other house in all of Soul Society could boast about owning a more glorious patch of earth. Those stuck-up Kuchiki nobles included. The lavender of the saffron melded perfectly with the pink roses and yellow marigolds. Even the permanent scarring from the battle with Aizen looked splendid, the craters and cavities augmented with purple heather shrubs and red poppy blooms.

In this wonderful sunset, it was nothing short of spectacular.

Shunsui sipped at his tea, enjoying the lack of an alcoholic bite in the liquid. Every now and again, the ponytailed captain enjoyed a quiet afternoon without being intoxicated. The invitation from the captain commander had come at just the right moment. He'd finished signing what little paperwork Nanao had allowed him to do, and was about to join Ikkaku at the nearest sake bar when the hell butterfly had fluttered into his window. Being that it had been a while since he'd sat down and talked with his old friend, he had to beg off the sake invite.

Not to imply that Kyoraku wouldn't be joining the eleventh division captain later, of course.

But as the two of them sat and drank their tea, Kyoraku could tell something was amiss with the woman across the table. While her face was wearing its constant smile, she hadn't said much since he'd sat down. In fact, she seemed more interested in her sun-drenched garden than in him. Considering that she'd invited him all the way from the eighth division, he found it a little odd that she'd spent the majority of her time looking off into the flowers.

"Shunsui," she said suddenly and quietly, her mouth barely moving as she looked out into the sunset. "Do you think I've made a mistake?"

"Eh?" he sighed questioningly, lowering the tea cup in the middle of a sip. "In what? The Vizards?"

"Yes."

"I don't think so," Kyoraku said with a smile. "Despite the time that has passed, you have to remember that we _know_all of them. Hirako, Muguruma, Love… they were once our peers. If we can't trust them, who can we trust?"

"I don't think that the whole of Seireitei shares in that opinion," she said quietly, almost absent mindedly.

"The whole of Soul Society should not question your decisions, Captain," he said sternly, trying to get some sort of reaction out of her. When she simply allowed his words to fly away, his smile faded completely with realization.

"But it's not really about that, is it?" he asked quietly. "It's not about _them_. It's about _him."_

Her eyes glanced over at him quickly; he barely noticed the deep blue irises flicker away from the gardens to briefly focus on him. But as soon as her eyes had touched their corners did they stare forward again, sitting calmly upon the flowers.

"Do you miss him, Retsu?" he asked softly, as if he feared her response.

She stood quickly and walked to the edge of the wooden patio on which they had been sitting. She stared out blankly for a moment before turning to look at him, the emotions obvious in her eyes.

"Do _you_ miss Juushiro?" she asked, almost mockingly, almost painfully.

"That's completely different," he replied hotly. Despite his sudden anger, Shunsui calmly placed his teacup down and stood. "_Juushiro_ was never my lover." He turned and walked away, despite knowing that Unohana hadn't meant the cruel words. He had no desire to get wrapped up in an emotional argument with one of his only true friends.

"And I never forced _Juushiro_ to get banished," Kyoraku Shunsui said coldly as he turned the corner, his anger getting the best of him. "I didn't betray _my _friend."

Unohana made no reply. She just continued to look out into the sunset.

* * *

Yumichika walked briskly around Karakura Town, enjoying a great many things about this mission. The change of scenery was wonderful, as was the warm weather. Soul Society had begun to get colder over the past week or so, and Yumichika was getting tired of it. He had always been a fan of warmer weather, and Karakura's seasons were just a tad behind Seireitei's.

But above all else, his _gigai_ allowed him to wear western clothes again. The artificial body he was currently occupying was wearing a lavender t-shirt under a grey pinstriped sports coat and dark blue denim jeans. A pair of white and green tennis shoes adorned his feet, and a white watch hung on his wrist.

Yeah, he looked fuckin' _good_.

Yumichika hadn't really discovered the pleasure of western fashion until he'd visited the material world for the first time. During one of the days when he hadn't been fighting the Arrancar, Matsumoto Rangiku had brought him along on one of her shopping adventures. He had had a wonderful time, to say the least. He'd never known how _wonderful_of a color purple was on him until that day.

As he walked by those same outlet stores, he felt a small pang of sorrow wash over him.

He really did miss Matsumoto. She had been one of his favorite drinking buddies, and a good friend. Even after all of these years, her absence still rang painfully apparent when he was out at a bar. Every time a silence descended upon their small group, the memories of Rangiku and Tetsuzaemon would come roaring back. And from the looks that would cross his companion's faces, he could see that he was never alone.

His melancholy thoughts soon vanished as he stepped into the crowded square. If his intel was to be believed, there was a university nearby. And where there was a college, there were college _girls_.

Ayasegawa Yumichika, lieutenant of the eleventh division and hallowed hero of the Winter War, needed to get laid.

As he entered the plaza of shops and arcades, the looks the girls began to give him only served to further fuel his desires. Every girl he passed shot him a look of interest, and he was enjoying the ego-boosting. While he wasn't usually this lecherous, his usual booty-call had been putting the brakes on him lately.

Kuchiki Rukia had totally shut him down the night before.

For the past twenty-five years, he and the lieutenant of the fifth division would periodically meet up and sexually maul each other. For the life of him, Yumichika couldn't figure out what it was about the girl that kept her coming back to him every other week. What had started as a one-time instance had turned into a system akin to clockwork. Either she would spend all day doing Renji's paperwork and need to blow off some steam, or he would get too drunk with Ikkaku. That was all it would take to bring one of them to the other's door in a lustful stupor.

Except for the other night. In fact, the past few weeks had been rather sexless for Yumichika. And he was getting tired of it. Rukia's periodic sex sessions had done wonders for Yumichika's sexual identity. He'd gotten laid a few times when he was back in Rukongai, but not very often. He had been too wrapped up in following Ikkaku around and rustling up sparring matches to worry about his _other_manly needs. Until Kuchiki Rukia had come along, he'd never realized how much he _enjoyed_sex.

Or how many _different ways_ he enjoyed sex.

He stepped into a darkened bar, a cloud of cigarette smoke smothering him as he walked up to the bartender. He noticed with a feigned disinterest the number of girls whose eyes were on him. The number was increasing by the second, much to the displeasure of the men in the bar. Yumichika walked away from the bar with a glass of whiskey and a chuckle. As a member of the eleventh division, he liked competition, no matter what form it took.

Five whiskeys and an hour later, he found himself surrounded by it.

Yumichika was bordered by four collegiate-looking young men, each one wearing a polo shirt and a frustrated scowl. When the undercover Shinigami had first put twenty dollars down on the green felt of a nearby pool table, he'd had no idea that the men there would continue to bet against him as much as they did. It wasn't _his_fault that they weren't nearly as skilled at the game as he was. It wasn't _his_fault that they were now five-hundred dollars in debt.

It probably _was_his fault that the girls they'd been with had stopped paying attention to them, though.

"Well, boys," Yumichika said, arrogantly brushing his dark hair behind his ears. "I would recommend paying up before we go any further. I would hate to embarrass you any more than I already have; not having enough money would just be icing on your ugly cake."

And it was _definitely _his fault that the first punch was thrown.

Yumichika deftly dodged the awkward blow, the effects of his alcohol vanishing in his joy at fighting. He shot out a quick and powerful jab, landing the blow in the man's belly. His opponent was sent flying against a nearby table, overturning it and spilling drinks on the floor.

Two of his buddies rushed at Yumichika, but the lean Shinigami quickly sent his foot into the knee of one of them, sending the young man to the ground in pain. Yumichika launched himself off of the guy's leg and into the air, spinning around backwards to plant the heel of the same foot into the second man's jaw, and following through with his hooked leg to kick over the first man who had gotten back up.

The fourth of his opponents had grabbed a pool cue and slung it at him from behind, hoping to hit Yumichika in the back with the object. The Shinigami deftly reached his hand out, snatching the long stick out of the air. He turned towards his opponent, the whole bar having since given the strange fighter a wide berth. Yumichika hefted the pool cue in his hand and smirked as he noted the weight was about equal to his zanpakuto.

"You shouldn't have given this to me…" Yumichika said calmly as more men began to surround him, each wanting a piece of the pretty-boy that had claimed the attention of every girl in the bar. "That was a very bad idea."

* * *

Ichigo sighed as he reached his father's house, the sun setting as he walked up to the door. He had really let himself take his time getting here; it wasn't even five o' clock when he'd left Urahara's, and now the evening was very much coming to a close

But then again, he'd been hesitant to come here, anyway.

He had no idea how his family was going to react to him being there; he hadn't spoken to any of them in over five years. He wouldn't be surprised if they just simply closed the door in his face. But they were still his family, so he might as well try. It wasn't very often that he was in the real world; it would be a wasted opportu—

A pair of feet rammed into the back of his head, sending his face into the door.

"What the _fuck_?" the orange-headed captain yelled out as blood began to drip from his hairline.

"Ichigo!" an angry voice called out behind him, belonging to none other than Kurosaki Isshin. "You think some no-good son of mine is going to simply waltz through _my_front door after ten years of absence?"

"It was only _five_ years, you crazy old man! Five!" Ichigo stood and turned to face his father. "And how are you going to just kick your son like that?"

"Kick you like _that_?" Isshin yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at his son. "Like I'm going to kick you like _this!"_

Isshin threw out his foot once more, his leg reaching rather high for a man in his sixties. Ichigo ducked the kick and planted an uppercut into his father's chin. The older Kurosaki flew upwards and back, landing solidly on his ass a few feet away. Isshin immediately grabbed at his tailbone and began writhing around on the floor, dramatically yelling out in pain.

"Ah! I think I broke a hip! Help me up, my son!"

"Now you want my _help_?" Ichigo asked incredulously, walking over to help his father up from the ground. "So you're too old to get up, but young enough to throw a kick? How does that work?"

"It was a trick!" Isshin yelled out, swinging his feet out to trip Ichigo. The younger of the two men leapt up, allowing the leg swipe to fly harmlessly under his feet. As he came down, he planted a knee into his father's stomach. The wind was knocked out of the older man and Ichigo stood up, brushing the dirt off of his knees.

"Help _yourself_ up, you idiot!" Ichigo yelled and turned toward the house.

"You saw… through my trap…" Isshin wheezed up from his spot on the ground. "You truly are… my son."

Ichigo continued to ignore his dad as he reached out for the door handle, but was shocked when it opened on its own. He looked up in surprise to see the smiling face of his younger sister, Yuzu. Her grin was wide as she greeted him, a soup ladle in her hand as always.

"Ichigo," she said warmly, wrapping her arms around him. "It's so nice to see you again."

"Hey Yuzu," Ichigo responded. He was a little confused; they weren't mad at him? "How did you know I was coming?"

"'Cuz we felt your _reiatsu_this morning, dummy," Karin said as she came around the corner and embraced him. "That idiot out there has been waiting outside to booby-trap you all day."

"And I got him, too!" Isshin yelled up from the sidewalk.

"Shut up, you stupid dad!"

Ichigo smiled as he walked inside, the smell of Yuzu's cooking wafting through the house. He kicked his shoes off and walked into the kitchen, sliding through the rooms as though he'd never left. Everything made him smile; the small table where they would eat dinner, the ridiculously large picture of his mother hanging above the living room, the dents in the walls from his sparring matches with his father.

It felt good to be home.

* * *

Ulquiorra floated in the night air outside of the Ishida residence, watching the woman inside make dinner for her two daughters. She still looked the same; her hair was shorter and had a few strands of grey in it, and her face had gained its share of laugh lines. But to his eyes, she looked the same.

Ishida Orihime still looked young and vibrant, even after all these years.

Whatever the two of them had been together had ended twenty years ago. It had been foolish for both of them to have believed anything differently was going to come from their pairing. She was still alive, growing older as every second passed by. He was an eternally damned soul, given a fake sense of salvation in his duties to Soul Society.

Failure had always been their destiny.

He'd been the one to tell her first. He knew that it wasn't fair to leave her waiting and waiting for him; every day that he wasn't around was heartbreaking for her. He knew it. And even if she never would have admitted it, she knew it too. It was completely irrational to believe that she would truly be happy as a woman betrothed to a spectre. No matter how much she'd argued against him, no matter how much she'd wept and cried that she didn't care about such matters, he'd simply placed his steely features against her pleas.

It may have looked cold to her, but it was his only way of staying strong.

Orihime's tears had always been his weak point. Even when she was his prisoner in Hueco Mundo, her frequent sobbing would crack the ice that had so defined him for all eternity. He never knew why. At first he'd assumed that it was simply perplexing. _How could someone cry as much as this woman?_But it soon evolved beyond curiosity. When his thoughts had stopped asking _why is she crying,_they would always be replaced with _how can I make her tears stop?_For five years, Ulquiorra had fought with all his strength to stop Orihime's tears from falling.

And in the end, he was helpless against the torrent.

"Ulquiorra?"

He froze in his spot in the air. Orihime had been taking out some trash when she'd noticed him. He looked down and regarded her coldly for a moment, deciding whether or not to simply vanish, before he lowered himself to the ground. Her brow was tight as she looked at him, her eyes no longer holding the familiar shimmering of tears.

"What are you doing here?" He voice carried no gleam of its normal kindness. It was a cold timbre that enveloped her words, a sound he'd never heard from her voice before.

Ulquiorra stood silently for a moment longer. He hadn't intended for him to be seen and was unprepared for her line of questioning. He was momentarily at a loss for words as she glared at him. He struggled for a response.

"I was sent on a mission," he said calmly, his voice doing little to betray his distraught emotions.

"I don't care about that," she said sternly, placing the trash into the tin can that was against the wall of her house. "I mean what are you doing _here?"_

Ulquiorra sighed lightly. He shouldn't have expected much else from her. He hadn't spoken to her in twenty years, and there was a reason for that. When he'd finally convinced her that they were impossible together, that their relationship was a charade, she had told him that she never wanted to see him again. Her words that day had been very timid and very quiet, but venomous all the same.

"I came to inform you that your husband's injuries are merely superficial," Ulquiorra said monotonously, lying through his teeth. "Ishida Uryuu will be returning after our mission has been completed."

A look of relief washed over her features, sending a small wave on envy through Ulquiorra's body. Deep down, he'd always hoped that she'd been unhappy in her marriage. But as soon as her look of joy had appeared did it vanish, replaced by an icy glare. She looked at him harshly for a few seconds before she turned and walked back to her home, casting a swift glance over her shoulder.

"Goodbye, Ulquiorra."

She closed the door, Ulquiorra hearing a pair of locks being turned in the darkness. She knew that he could open the door if he wanted to, locks or no locks. She was simply sending a message to him: _go away._

Failure had always been their destiny.

Ulquiorra floated back into the sky, walking upon the air silently, his hands in his pockets. As he neared the roof of the neighboring house, he looked down, noticing a figure crouched in the shadows of the house's chimney.

"Can I help you," he said coldly, "Captain Kurosaki?"

"No," Ichigo said, not taking his eyes off of Ishida Orihime's house. "Just keeping a promise."

"I see."

Ulquiorra Schiffer continued to walk away from his old rival, but stopped dead when he heard it. His head snapped back over his shoulder, seeing that Ichigo had leapt up from his spot and was heading towards the sound. To the ears of hollow-hybrids like them, the ripping sound of an opening _garganta_ was as clear as a cathedral bell.

The Espada had arrived.

* * *

_**author's note**_

_sorry all my ulquihime fans. logic had to prevail. :(_

_oh and speaking of ulquiorra, (spoiler)__**HOLY SHIT**__. (/spoiler)_

_after byakuya bashed him last chapter, i figured i'd let shunsui come back and reclaim some of his dignity._

_and zomg, kurosaki isshin__for the mother-fucking WIN.__(yeah, i spelled it out and underlined it.) that whole family is a blast to write for; i recommend giving it a shot._

_i dressed yumichika up in what i wore today, lol. and i love whisky and i can make lots of money playing pool. basically, i = yumichika. (actually, my shirt was dark purple, not lavender. W/E) oh and__**delmarch**__, you know that yumichika part was TOTALLY for you._

_sorry__**libello,**__no grimm/soi this chapter. they'll be back next one, i swear._

_**reviews**__make me really happy. please give em to me?_

_jta._

_**sirènes - claude debussy**_


	8. Cum Mortuis in Lingua Mortua

_**Cum Mortuis in Lingua Mortua**_

The throbbing began to ebb away slowly, the harsh pain fading with the darkness.

Soi Fon opened her eyes to see a dimly lit patch of stalactites, each of the dripstones jabbing down from the ceiling above her. She sat up with a panicked start, only to fall back down to the hard ground with a dull thud. Her head whirled as an immense pain rocketed through her mind, practically pinning her to the ground.

_What happened? _she thought as her brain thumped painfully against the inside of her skull. _Where the hell am I?_

She sat back up, much slower this time. Her head still ached ferociously, but she was able to maintain her upright position. She looked back and forth, noting the rock walls on either side of her. She squinted against a spot of harsher light, her mind immediately recognizing it as the mouth of the cave.

_So, _she thought with a small wince, _I'm in a cave. How in the hell did I get here?_

She looked around a bit more, noticing that a small pool of water had formed in the corner of this subterranean hovel. She crawled over to the puddle and lowered her small palms into the water, cupping her hands together before bringing them up to her mouth. Slowly she drank from it, the mineral rich water quenching her burning throat. She attempted to stand, but stopped halfway through straightening her legs; the movements caused a bolt of pain to race through her head.

Hazily, Soi Fon remembered the explosion. She remembered falling through the desert floor of Hueco Mundo. She remembered Captain Abarai's body falling through the waves of sand next to her, his form dropping like a limp ragdoll before vanishing behind a wall of plummeting earth. She remembered that her sword had—

She reached her arm back swiftly, grasping hopefully for her zanpakuto, but it was gone. It had somehow become lost in the blast, the tether that had held it on to the small of her back ripping at the force of the explosion. Soi Fon cursed silently. They had fallen right into a well placed trap, after becoming embarrassingly lost. This mission wasn't going well at all. Now she was alone and in a cave, lost underneath the ground of the hollow world.

Soi Fon stepped up to the mouth of the cave, looking out over the great Menos Forest. She looked down, noticing that she was several hundred feet above the fog covered ground, the mouth of the cavern located within one of the numerous pillars that reached up to for the surface. Her eyes began trailing down the massive crystalline column that extended beneath her feet. The white post continued beyond her field of vision, falling downwards into the fog before disappearing altogether.

A sudden sound snapped her to attention, the sound of scuttling rocks outside echoing deeply within her cavernous hideaway. Soi Fon once more reached for her sword in an absent-minded movement; her shinigami instincts were too well honed for her not to immediately grasp for her sword. Upon recalling that it was gone, Soi began summoning energy to her limbs, enveloping her hands and feet within powerful fields of kidou. Her _shunkou _had long since been perfected, and she was more than ready to demolish whatever opponent was approaching her.

The green-haired, goggle-headed Kuna Mashiro popped her face up from the bottom of the cavern's mouth, her face the definition of joy.

"Soi Fon!" the girl practically yelled, interrupting the serenity of cavern that the second division captain had been experiencing. "You're awake!"

Soi Fon's aching head almost split in half at the piercing voice, the vibrant green hair of the Vizard girl making her eyes squint. Soi was preparing a rude comment to sling at the Vizard when the girl flipped herself up and into the cave, _Suzumebachi _in her hands. Soi Fon's eyes widened at the sight of her zanpakuto, relief flooding her veins as she looked upon the blue and gold scabbard of her sword.

While the separation from her zanpakuto had, for the moment, been little more than a bother, Soi Fon was happy to see _Suzumebachi _unharmed. After all, the sword was spiritually attached to her; if he'd been destroyed, the consequences would have been far graver than 'she'd have been defenseless.' Soi Fon was more than capable of defending herself without a blade. As the commander of the Secret Mobile Operations, Soi Fon's hand-to-hand combat skills were unrivalled in Soul Society. But the destruction of her zanpakuto would have limited her spiritual capabilities as a whole; for the past two hundred years, Soi Fon and _Suzumebachi _had been inseparable. If the blade had vanished, Soi Fon might have become completely incapacitated— such was the connection between the captain and her blade.

Fortunately, the young Vizard had arrived with the zanpakuto, the ditzy smile showing none of the concern that Soi Fon had felt within herself.

"Mashiro," Soi Fon said swiftly, her voice ringing out in stark difference to the silence of the cave. "Where is everyone?"

"I dunno," the girl said with a childish shrug, handing over Soi Fon's zanpakuto. The hand-off of blades was as natural as breathing, both of the women outwardly disregarding the spiritual joy that exploded from both Soi Fon and the sword. "I felt Kensei a while ago, but it's been a bit since then."

"How long have I been asleep?" Soi Fon asked impatiently, her brow furrowing. She had no time for Mashiro's girlish demeanor. "How long since the explosion?"

"Oh, I don't know," Mashiro responded, touching a finger to her lower lip. "Maybe an hour. I found you pretty quickly—"

A massive roar suddenly bellowed from outside the cavern. Soi Fon rushed to the mouth of the cave, her eyes immediately widening at what she saw. Before her stood at least a dozen _Gillian_-level Menos, their large white faces towering above the layer of fog that enveloped the ground. She watched in stunned silence as the huge beasts continued to move in lumbering unison, their black bodies bumping against each other as they marched through the darkness.

"_Gillian_," Soi Fon hissed through her teeth, Mashiro whistling in awe by her side.

Soi Fon had always heard about the Menos Forest; all information about the mass of Hollows that gathered beneath the surface of Hueco Mundo was required reading for any Shinigami in the academy. While most of the students would never, _ever _see this foul place with their own eyes, it was nonetheless an important location for the evolution of Hollows. This was where every Menos Grande-level Hollow was born.

This was the nursery of the _Vasto Lorde_.

One of the _Gillian _in the line suddenly stopped, the one directly behind him bumping into it with an inattentive stupidity. The lead monster maintained its inactivity for a few moments before opening its ghastly smile and snapping a red _cero _down into the fog-covered ground. Within a second or two, the rest of the line followed suit, each of the massive Hollows blasting towards the ground with their enormous crimson rays.

Mashiro suddenly unsheathed her sword and stepped farther towards the mouth of the cavern, causing Soi Fon to blink in surprise.

"Mashiro," she said sternly, her hand reaching out to the girl that had saved her life earlier, her finger tips touching the Vizard's forearm. "Where are you going?"

"To get Kensei," the Vizard said quickly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Can't you feel them down there?"

Soi Fon suddenly _could_, the wave of previously unnoticed _reiatsu _hitting her with vigor. While she couldn't readily recognize Muguruma's spiritual signature, she immediately identified Lieutenant Kuchiki and Renji's. She searched out further, looking for Grimmjow, but he wasn't with them. A moment of panic descended upon her, but it was quickly extinguished. She needn't worry about the Arrancar.

If anyone was going to survive the forest, it would be him.

Soi Fon unsheathed her zanpakuto and leapt out of the cave's mouth, following the excited Kuna Mashiro towards the battle.

* * *

Renji had also woken up in a strange place, albeit one that was far more unnerving than Soi Fon's cave.

As his vision had cleared, Abarai Renji had found himself dangling over the shoulder of a running Muguruma Kensei. At first he'd been very confused. But as the seconds ticked by and he became more aware of his surroundings, it had been unmistakable; the boots, the cargo pants, the gloved hands wrapped around his waist.

Indeed Renji had woken up in an unpleasant manner.

After a brief yelling match, Kensei had placed the Shinigami captain down on his own feet, Renji stumbling slightly before regaining his composure. Rukia had shown up at that moment, looking relatively unharmed save for a shallow gash in her forehead. Concern had immediately swelled within him, but he'd suppressed it. Rukia was a lieutenant, and he wanted to treat her like one. He owed her that much. So Renji had simply planned to ask how she was.

That was when the _Gillian _appeared.

Now they were dodging in and out of crevices and behind the massive pillars of crystal in avoidance of the equally massive Hollows that were attacking them.

"Howl, Zabimaru!" Renji roared out the command, whipping his blade forward with deadly accuracy and unrivalled ferocity. The extending weapon flew upwards and sliced off the long nose of one of the masked menaces. With a swift flick of his wrist, Renji brought _Zabimaru's _spiked edge back down into the white mask of the Menos. The zanpakuto passed through the creature's face like a fin through water, the giant Hollow disintegrating as it was purified.

A _Gillian-_level Menos was nothing that a captain should have any trouble in killing. They were slow-moving and possessed almost no intelligence. For all intents and purposes, a captain-class Shinigami should be able to vanquish one without breaking a sweat. But a _Gillian_ was impossibly strong, their massive bodies resilient to almost all forms of attack. Unless a powerful strike to the face was delivered, they would continue on unharmed. And their _cero, _if one were to be caught off guard, could easily kill a high-level shinigami.

And with the three of them surrounded by a dozen of the towering monsters, being blindsided by a giant _cero_ was a great possibility.

As the first of the Menos fell, Renji leapt up into the air and towards the gaping maw of another. He reared his arm back as this second _Gillian _began to charge a _cero _from its widened jaws. Renji slung his arm forward then, his whip-like zanpakuto streaking forward to cut the beast's ivory mask. The blade sunk into the black cheek of the monster, the sharp spikes of _Zabimaru_sticking into its putrid flesh for a few moments before ripping through and out the other side.

The Hollow's mouth split open from cheek to cheek, the top half of its head flipping completely over and hanging limply against the back of its thick neck. The _cero _it had been charging began to go crazy under this sudden lack of control, the ball of energy spurting forth jagged beams of red light in every direction. Some of the blasts began to rip through the pillars that stretched up into the darkness, causing the crystalline structures to snap away, while some of them pierced through the slow-moving bodies of the surrounding _Gillian._

Eventually the attack shot out, the crimson beam blasting upwards before vanishing into the darkness of the endless ceiling above. The black titan began to fall, disintegrating before it even hit the ground. Several of the other Menos began to stagger off, the blast from their companion having forced them into a dim-witted retreat.

"Like I would let you get away!" Renji hollered out as he leapt after another opponent, seeing that Rukia had felled another from the corner of his eyes. As he reared back to attack this retreating target, his much smaller body emerging above the black shoulder of his retreating enemy, Renji gasped in shock.

Another _Gillian _was charging forward, headed directly at him.

_They tricked me? _He thought incredulously as he leapt back in the air, _there's no way! _He threw his arms over his face, waiting for the surprise attack to come. But it never did. Instead this second Menos lunged forward and sank its teeth into the black body of its companion. As the first of the _Gillian _began to howl in anguish, Renji noticed the difference in the masks between the two Hollows. Instead of the conical nose and black eyes typical of the _Gillians,_ this beast had a single empty eye socket in the middle of its otherwise featureless mask.

Renji began to realize, with a creeping horror, that he was witnessing the evolution of a would-be _Adjuchas. _He knew that this sort of cannibalism between the mindless _Gillian _could only indicate the conscious thought of a giant Menos Grande that had been blessed with retaining its individuality.

Watching the monster feed upon its brethren with a shocked fascination, Renji didn't see the incoming _cero_ until it had already landed.

The wind was almost blown out of his lungs by the sheer force of the blow near him, the brilliant light of the attack causing him to squint his eyes against the brightness. As the red light vanished, he was shocked to see Kuna Mashiro floating across from him, her palms extended from the massive _cero _she'd just fired. The two giants fell together, each one missing their head. She looked over and smiled widely at him, her deadly hand waving casually.

"We found you!"

Renji could only stand with his mouth agape at the cheery girl. _Was that a _cero_ she just fired? _He'd had _no_ idea that a Vizard could shoot a _cero._

_Could Ichigo do that, too?_

Renji shuddered slightly with the thought. He hated the idea of his friend being so close to a hollow; it had never seemed normal to him, it had never seemed _right._ The shooting of a _cero _only made it worse.

"Abarai!" a woman's voice yelled out at him.

Renji turned to look for her, but found himself face to face with another _Gillian. _The massive creature had snuck up on him, its mouth now a mere yard away from his body. Renji leapt back in surprise, but the beast was still too close for him to launch a counter-attack.

Soi Fon suddenly appeared in front of him, the Menos Grande falling under an attack that had been far too quick for Renji to see.

"You should learn to better watch your surroundings," Soi Fon said in her stern manner, "Captain Abarai."

He nodded his head quickly, banishing the thought of uttering a "thank you." He knew that Soi Fon would simply shrug it off. Sometimes the second division's captain could be a brick wall.

Renji's eyes scanned the ground as he lowered himself, his body descending as the last of the giant Hollows fell. He did not see Grimmjow with them. And from the look on Soi Fon's face, she had no idea where he was either. She didn't look too concerned, all things considered. Renji had a feeling that Grimmjow would be able to hold his own; after all, he _was _a hollow in the hollow world. He was almost certain that Soi Fon shared this belief.

The five of them quickly headed deeper into the forest, hoping to find a way out.

* * *

Grimmjow walked into the sandy clearing, his body moving silently between the crystalline towers of the Menos Forest. Out of any area in Hueco Mundo that Grimmjow knew like the back of his hand, it was this place. He'd spent centuries here, deep under the ground, fighting for his life, feeding in the darkness.

As he approached the center of the open space, he realized that he wasn't too far behind the rest of his group.

The explosive trap on the surface had actually flung Grimmjow up and outwards, his body landing well away from the gaping sinkhole in the sands of Hueco Mundo's surface. But he wasn't about to allow the rest of his team to fall into those abysmal caverns. He wasn't going to let Soi Fon vanish below the surface of the hollow world.

Grimmjow had dived head-first into the rapidly closing chasm, falling through the torrents of sand that plummeted down to the darkness below. He could sense Soi Fon's _reiatsu, _but his mind was disoriented in the middle of this pitfall, blackening all sense of direction.

When he'd emerged out into the open, his body hovering a thousand feet above the dark and hazy ground, he'd all but lost track of the people in his team. He'd closed his eyes, using his_pesquisa _to search for their otherwise absent _reiatsu. _He could see the small blue flames of their spiritual energies, but the abundance of Menos Grande in the cavernous forest below had prevented him from locating them.

He'd lowered himself to the sandy floor and waited, his mind constantly searching for some sort of evidence as to their locations. This suspension had only lasted an hour before he'd felt the surge of power from a number of _Gillian. _Grimmjow had rushed off in that direction immediately, but it had been much further away then he'd initially thought. He could see the red light from a dozen or so _cero_, the red beams eerily lighting up the dark canopy above.

Now he stood in the empty battlefield, his outstretched hand over one of the craters formed by a _cero_, feeling the warmth that was rising up from the hole in the ground. Grimmjow looked up and closed his eyes once more, hoping that his _pesquisa _would be able to locate them now. If they were still nearby, he shouldn't have any sort of problem in finding them.

"Well now," a deep voice rang out from behind him, breaking his concentration from the search. "I haven't seen an Arrancar down here in ages."

Grimmjow turned around and gasped in shock, his eyes widening at the man in front of him. The orange hair, the visor, the white clothing, the pair of daggers held in each hand… Grimmjow knew this man.

"Gantenbainne," Grimmjow hissed through his teeth, his eyelids narrowing. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think I'm doing here?" Gantenbainne Mosqueda replied casually, lifting up the plate of bone that covered his eyes. "I'm here to kill you."

Grimmjow stood still for a moment, his eyes widening in shock before his mouth turned up in a grin. He then exploded into vicious laughter, his jaws spreading enough to separate the two ivory mandibles on the side of his face.

"_You_ are here to kill me?" Grimmjow asked between bouts of derisive and hateful laughter. "I don't know what's happened in the past twenty-five years that makes you think that a fucking _Privaron _could—"

The orange-headed Arrancar vanished suddenly, the buzz of his _sonído _causing the words to stick in Grimmjow's throat. A foot quickly appeared out of nothingness, planting itself harshly into Grimmjow's gut. The blue-haired Arrancar was sent flying backwards, crashing through a crystalline column before skidding through the sand on his side.

Gantenbainne was quickly upon him, the double pronged punching-daggers in his hands aiming for his fallen form. Grimmjow quickly vanished into a burst of _sonído, _leaving his opponent to slam his fists into the sand. Grimmjow soon reappeared, throwing his own fist downward at his hunched-over enemy. Gantenbainne turned and caught the punch in his hand, causing Grimmjow to once more widen his eyes in surprise.

The _privaron _Espada smirked before punching his fellow Arrancar in the chest, to again sending him flying.

"What's happened in the past twenty-five years," Gantenbainne said confidently, answering Grimmjow's unfinished question. "Is that you've become no match for the likes of the new Espada."

"The new Espada, huh?" Grimmjow said with a groan, pushing himself up from the sand. "That doesn't mean a fuckin' thing! Just 'cause you got a promotion doesn't mean you can even touch me!"

Grimmjow rushed at Gantenbainne, whipping his zanpakuto out of its scabbard and slicing it outwards at his opponent. The blade slipped silently through the empty air, the Espada having vanished once more.

_What the fuck?_

"Gantenbainne Mosqueda," came the voice from behind. "_D__écimo_ Espada."

Grimmjow spun around quickly, barely blocking the deadly punch with his sword. He groaned slightly as Gantenbainne looked at him impassively. The Espada's second fist swung outwards, but Grimmjow vanished in a burst of _sonído, _causing the other Arrancar to punch through thin air. Grimmjow reappeared above his opponent and immediately fired a red _bala _down at him. The attack landed and Grimmjowrocketed himself upwards, leaving his opponent to follow him upwards into the darkened sky.

_What the fuck was that?_

He'd fought against Gantenbainne Mosqueda before, back when Grimmjow had first been turned into an Arrancar. Aizen had immediately promoted Grimmjow above the afro-headed Espada, which caused him to be challenged for the _Sexta _spot. When they'd sparred against each other all those years ago, Grimmjow hadn't even broken a sweat while defeating this man. Now he was retreating from him.

Grimmjow stopped ascending and looked down, his eyes scanning the fog for any sign of his opponent. He wasn't about to let this disco-headed freak lay another finger on him; this fight was going to end with Grimmjow as the victor. Gantenbainne wanted some vengeance? Bullshit.

Grimmjow was going to turn this fucker inside out.

A red beam suddenly erupted upwards from the fog, the _cero _almost striking him from out of the air. Grimmjow could feel the heat on his skin as the blast flew past him, the powerful attack a blazing by mere inches away from his body.

Below him, rising slowly from the mist of the Menos Forest's floor, was the released form of Gantenbainne Mosqueda. The Espada was soon hovering across from Grimmjow, his bulbous and boney shell-like armor covering his arms and shoulders, a long white tail hanging behind his legs. He smirked at Grimmjow once more before rushing at him again, his fists flying out in rapid succession.

Grimmjow was being driven back as his blade blocked against each of the incoming strikes. His lips curved up into an aggravated snarl as he watched each punch for an opening, for just one chance to land a hit on the attacking Espada.

"You will soon see," Gantenbainne yelled amidst the attacks, "the difference in our powers now. You will see the strength that the _Hogyouku _has given to me!"

_The Hogyouku? _Grimmjow thought with shock. _So they do have it…_

_Gin lied to me._

An ill-timed punch was thrown, allowing Grimmjow to spin his way outside the stream of attacks. He slashed out with his sword, _Pantera's _sharp edge cutting a trench through the white armored plating of Mosqueda's _Dragra._ The released Arrancar spun in surprise, blood spilling from the freshly opened gash running up his left arm to his shoulder. As he turned his body towards his attacker, a bright ball of energy began to envelope his right fist. A massive blast of golden light shot out from his hand, the dragon-shaped attack shooting out towards Grimmjow.

But it hit nothing.

"You think that your little power-boost makes you better than me?" Grimmjow called out from above, his mouth widening into a cruel smirk as he looked down into the eyes of the surprised Espada. "Let me show you exactly why…"

Grimmjow vanished from sight, Gantenbainne gasping in shock at the pure speed of his opponent. He was still looking up, his face pointed at the black canopy of the Menos Forest, when Grimmjow reappeared directly in front of him and grabbed at the white lapels of his jacket, a fully charged _cero _whirling in his open palm.

"…you'll always be a _Privaron _Espada!"

Gantenbainne Mosqueda could only utter a small groan as the crimson blast slammed into his chest and sent him plummeting down into the fog of the forest floor. Grimmjow laughed menacingly before propelling himself downwards, following the trail of smoke that his fallen opponent was leaving through the air. He wasn't about to let the cocky son of a bitch escape that easily.

Grimmjow Jaggerjaques wasn't done with him yet.

* * *

Halibel was in a foul mood.

Their planning had all been working up until this moment; when the Shinigami came to attack them, they would make their big move. Twenty years of raising an army had come down to the next few days. Their revenge would soon be at hand.

And Stark had vanished.

He hadn't even been around when his little golden-girl had taken her _Fracción _to the transient dimension. The _Primera _Espada had been missing all damn day, and Halibel was getting sick of it. He simply said that he'd gotten an idea and then left. If this had been the first time the lazy Arrancar had run off on a whim during something important, Halibel wouldn't mind so much.

But it wasn't.

When they'd prepared to reclaim the palace of _Las Noches, _Stark had vanished the night before, leaving her and their two female _Fracción_ to annihilate an entire horde of Hollows. It hadn't been much of an issue; most of the squatting beast had retreated at the mere sight of the trio of Arrancar women. But it was still a matter of principle.

Halibel was, after all, the one with the _Hogyouku._

She walked along the halls of _Las Noches, _ignoring the Arrancar she began passing. The majority of these _numeros _had been created under her hand; they knew better than to cross the_Terceira _when she was in a foul mood. She continued along until she reached one of the massive sets of white doors that led out into the artificial desert. She opened them and stepped out into the artificial sunlight.

Or what was left of it.

They were still trying to repair the massive, gaping hole that idiot Ulquiorra had blown in the dome. Halibel had no idea what he had been thinking when he'd done that; she wondered if the boy held any idea how lucky he was that he'd been captured by the Shinigami. If he had still been in Hueco Mundo when Aizen had returned, he would have been crushed. _Vasto Lorde _or not, Aizen Sousuke had been livid at the destruction of his great castle.

And Aizen Sousuke did not get livid often.

It didn't matter now. They'd all learned to live with the after effects of the war. The Shinigami had sent numerous missions into Hueco Mundo, each one causing more destruction to the palace, each one delaying the beginning of her plan to amass an army further and further. They had been such an irritation; it had taken all her strength and willpower not to simply attack them whenever they'd return.

Although they did kill Barragan during their initial siege, and for that she was grateful.

"Halibel?"

She turned around to see Tesla emerge from the interior of the palace. The _Quinta _Espada had barely survived the war— even the Shinigami had assumed he was dead when they'd captured Grimmjow Jaggerjaques, leaving his bleeding body to rot in the sand. But somehow Nnoitra Jiruga's blonde-haired _Fracción _had crawled away from his battle against the Shinigami, and had kept himself alive for seven years. And he'd gotten stronger. Outside of Apache and Lilinette, he had been the first of the Arrancar to undergo a second exposing to the _Hogyouku._

And then he'd gotten _much _stronger.

Halibel arched a mental eyebrow at his appearance behind her; Tesla was normally quiet and reserved, choosing only to speak when it was necessary. Which meant that the young man had more than likely come to her with bad news.

"Tesla," Halibel said coolly, turning her covered face back to the fake desert. "What is it?"

"I'm afraid to report," he said, his voice calmly dangling on the border between melancholy and monotony, "that the _Décimo_ Espada, Gantenbainne Mosqueda, has left the borders of _Las Noches, _and has entered the Menos Forest. I believe that he is attempting to engage the attack force sent by Seireitei."

Halibel sighed. While all of the Espada were considered to be the upper echelons of Hueco Mundo, Stark and Halibel were undeniably its leaders. Orders given by the two them were expected to be obeyed. Gantenbainne Mosqueda had always had trouble following their authority, so this transgression did not surprise her in the least. Not to mention, the former _Privaron _Espada had bad blood with one Soul Society's attackers.

It was, however, an extremely irritating turn of events. She did not want to lose an Espada because of an idiotic personal vendetta.

"It's fine, Tesla," she said, not taking her eyes off of the sand dunes ahead of her. "If that fool manages to get himself killed, so be it. His loss will have little bearing on the outcome of our plans."

Tesla bowed swiftly and turned, stiffly walking back the way he had come. She didn't turn to watch him leave. She stood alone in the ruined deserts of _Las Noches, _her arms crossed over her chest as she stared out at nothing, her head mired in contemplation.

Once more Halibel sighed in exasperation, wishing that Stark had at least told her _where_ he had gone.

_**author's note

* * *

**_

_"like i'd let you get away!" renji's such a doofus. lol. i hate when they say shit like that, but damn if he doesn't say it a lot._

_tesla and gantenbainne and apache and lilinette; it's like an arrancar family reunion up in here._

_still gonna have to invent lilinette's fraccion, tho. you guys will have to give me a minute on the next chapter; fleshing out arrancar is tedious._

_you could always **REVIEW **while you wait**.** i would love it. i swear._

_and huge props to my 100+ word reviewers. ya'll know who you are (del, lib). lufs yas._

_if you haven't noticed, i'm sort of doing an "epcot-esque round the world" with the names of the chapters lately. so far we've had polish, french, and now latin. five bucks if anyone can guess the language of the next chapter. (btw, the translation for this chapter title is "with the dead in a dead language")_

_and again, please **review. **i just typed up 5700 words for you guys. drop me a couple to let me know you liked em?_

_rollin' down the street (sippin' on gin and juice),_

_jta_

_**catacombae (cum mortuis in lingua mortua) - modest mussorgsky (again)**_


	9. Pistolero

_**Pistolero**_

"I can't believe we got kicked out," the pretty young woman drunkenly slurred up at him.

"No biggie," Yumichika said as he stumbled through the empty street, one of the girls from the bar tucked under his arm. "I've been kicked out of nicer fuckin' bars than that. Prettier ones, too."

"Why do you keep doing that?" the girl asked with an intoxicated giggle. "Why do you keep calling things 'ugly' or 'beautiful' all the time?"

"I call it like I see it," he chuckled out.

She pushed him down a side street and pinned him up against a wall. She brought her face close to his, her firm body pressing against his chest.

"So which one am _I_?"

He was about to tell her the truth, that she had only been the best of his choices at the bar, that he'd _definitely_had better looking girls than her. But before he could say anything, she jabbed her lips against his. He was glad she'd distracted him; he'd had a few too many drinks and was about to speak his mind, which would have probably prevented him from getting laid. Fortunately, his inebriated delay and her drunken eagerness had saved the night. He was just lucky she didn't ask him her name. He definitely wouldn't have been able to answer that question.

Much to his surprise, and delight, the young woman began to undo his belt right there in the alley, her hands blindly working against the buckle as her mouth trailed itself along his neck. Yumichika leaned his head back in pleasure as the girl unzipped his pants, his eyes lazily looking up at the night sky.

Just in time to see the _bala _headed straight for him.

"_Shit," _he hissed, pushing the girl away from him as he threw his hands up above his head. "_Hadou 54,"_he yelled out as the red blast rocketed itself down towards the duo. "_Haien!"_

A pair of pink fireballs flew out from his open palms and crashed into the Hollow's surprise attack. The alleyway lit up with the explosion, the newly formed winds scattering the garbage that littered the asphalt. Yumichika's eyes searched the sky for his assailant, his violet irises darting back and forth through the darkness.

"What the hell was that?" the nameless young woman asked from the ground, her voice trembling in fear.

"Don't worry about it," Yumichika said sharply without taking his eyes off the air above them, his hand pulling out his _gikongan _dispenser. "Go home and sleep."

Without any further explanation, Ayasegawa Yumichika popped the small green pill into his mouth and ejected his soul from the _gigai. _He knew that the chick would probably wonder why he'd just gone comatose in front of her, but he could care less; a sleeping _gikongan _was far more preferable than one that could answer questions. Maybe, if he was lucky, she'd faint from fear.

Or get blown up or something.

Yumichika leapt up into the air, bouncing from wall to wall until he emerged above the top of the buildings he'd been in between. Another _bala_immediately shot out at him, this time striking him directly in the chest and sending him flying across the rooftops. Yumichika landed on his side, skidding along the top of another building.

Suddenly the Arrancar was upon him, the broad metal of his zanpakuto gleaming in the moonlight as it was swung down.

The blade struck the gravel flooring of the roof, its intended target vanishing into thin air.

Yumichika reappeared in a flash, his foot striking out and driving into the Arrancar's ribs. With a pained gasp, the enemy leapt away and glared at Yumichika from a distance. He was taller than Yumichika by almost an entire foot, his head topped with wavy brown hair that fell down to his cheeks. His body was covered completely by a tight fitting, single-pieced white suit, a think black line reaching up from his crotch to the base of his neck where the cloth stopped, the black _obi_creating the image of an inverted cross upon his torso. The remainder of his Hollow mask was a simple ivory band that stretched out and covered his right eyebrow before jutting out in a spike from the side of his face, the white fragment of bone standing out against his olive skin. He was lanky, his legs making up most of his height, his white-gloved hands hanging well below his waist.

"Sorry to surprise you like that, Shinigami," he said, his voice thick with both a flavorful accent and dry sarcasm. "But if I was supposed to be killing a drunken fool, I'd rather get it over with quickly."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Arrancar," Yumichika said snarkily, "but I'm not nearly drunk enough to get wacked by such an ugly sneak-attack."

The Arrancar smirked and lifted his sword up into a striking position. "Well, then. I guess I'll have to fight you head-on."

"If you want to make that mistake," Yumichika said flippantly, "be my guest."

The Arrancar suddenly vanished into thin air, causing Yumichika's eyes to widen in shock. _He's fast, _was all the Shinigami could think before spinning around and raising his zanpakuto to block the incoming strike of his opponent's. The two blades crashed against each other harshly, the Hollow's wide sword pinning the lieutenant's as it slid halfway out of the scabbard. The Arrancar smirked again as a red ball of energy began to form in his free hand. Yumichika's eyes widened at the sight of the _cero_and he thrust against his attacker's blade before vanishing in a swift burst. The _cero_roared out harmlessly into the night air, barely missing him.

"Bloom, _Fuji Kujaku!" _Yumichika called out as he quickly reappeared directly behind the Arrancar, slashing out with his sickle-like _shikai._The four blades swung down at the surprised man's head, but the Hollow managed to move his face to the left at the last second. Instead of splitting his skull in two, the scythes cut the tip off the spike of his mask fragment and raked themselves down the Arrancar's chest. Crimson blood sprayed out of the wound, the red liquid raining down on Yumichika's face.

The tall Arrancar stumbled backwards, a hand jutting up to the gash in his flesh. Yumichika rushed at him once more, the curved zanpakuto lashing out harshly as he began to drive his opponent back. The white-clad man blocked each of these strikes with accuracy, his form and ability showing no hint of the carelessness that had allowed the Shinigami to draw first blood.

With a quick duck, the Arrancar escaped Yumichika's driving attacks, the Shinigami's blades swiping into the air above his head harmlessly. Using this newfound opening, the Hollow thrust his zanpakuto forward at his enemy's gut. Yumichika twisted his body, the broad sword only leaving a shallow slice in the skin of his stomach. He brought _Fuji Kujaku_down harshly upon the Hollow's blade, forcing the tip of the zanpakuto to crash into the floor. Yumichika immediately slid his own sword up his opponent's blade, sparks showering as the scythes scraped up toward the torso of the Arrancar.

The white-clad warrior reached out and grabbed Yumichika's blades with his gloved hand, his fist tightening against them. The Shinigami uttered a sound of shock as a small trail of blood began to trickle from his opponent's fist. With a smile, the lanky Arrancar threw a foot towards Yumichika's torso, the kick landing with a painful thud in his ribs. The lieutenant flew backwards, but landed softly on one foot as though nothing happened. A little snarl from across the rooftop served as the only proof that the kick had even hurt him.

"Not bad, Shinigami," the Arrancar said, his soft voice taunting as his fingers gingerly touching the blood that was flowing out of his wounded chest. "Care to give me your name?"

"Ayasegawa Yumichika," he replied dryly, "lieutenant of the eleventh division."

"You can simply call me Vuulpin," the Hollow responded with an air of arrogance. His prideful look fell away quickly, his smile changing into a sharp scowl. "It's a shame that my orders are to kill you as quickly as possible; I would love to have toyed around with you a bit more, Lieutenant Ayasegawa. You seem to have some skill. However…"

Vuulpin lifted his sword into the air as it began to glow a soft shade of purple.

"Thresh, _Zorro Ojón."_

Yumichika smiled as his opponent's form began to change. He'd been cooped up behind his desk in the eleventh for so long that he felt like it would have been a real shame to kill this Arrancar without a good fight. Kicking the shit out of fifth seats had long since lost its appeal to him

As the violet light faded from around the Arrancar's body, Yumichika's eyes widened as he looked at empty air. His opponent had completely vanished.

A sudden kick to the side of the face sent him flying into the water tank that was on the top of the building, his lean body crashing through the wooden planks and into the liquid reserves inside. A massive torrent of water rushed out over the rooftop as the reservoir's structure collapsed, the Shinigami coughing up water as he struggled to emerge from the wreckage.

The top of Vuulpin's head was now adorned with a smooth white helmet, the back of which curved out and down in a bony crescent. His hands had been replaced with a pair of white spines, each of the long spears touching the floor. He smiled at Yumichika's wet body, revealing a set of jagged teeth.

"Come now, lieutenant" the Arrancar spat, his mellow voice replaced by a metallic growl. "Don't tell me you couldn't see that attack coming?"

Yumichika stood up shakily; the water that pooled around his ankles was now falling over the sides of the building in crashing waves. The truth was that he _hadn't _been able to see his enemy's movement. The Arrancar had been too fast for him to track; none of the other Arrancar he'd ever fought had been this fast. Whatever power boost the Arrancar had received was extremely evident, and it had caught him completely off guard.

He wasn't about to admit it, though.

"Of course I could see your moves," Yumichika countered verbally, "I was just letting you feel good about yourself. You're going to need much more than that to take _me_ down."

Yumichika darted forward, his feet barely touching the water beneath them as he sped towards his opponent. He slashed out with his scythes, but the Arrancar easily blocked the strike with his sword-like arms. Yumichika vanished quickly, reappearing a moment later to slice at Vuulpin's backside. The Arrancar spun and blocked the sickles once more with his right arm, meanwhile thrusting the sharp point of his left into Yumichika's shoulder.

The Shinigami growled in pain as the white javelin entered his flesh, grimacing as he heard the sound of his shoulder blade shattering as the sharp point exited through his back. Vuulpin began to run forward with Yumichika still skewered upon his spear-like limb, eventually driving the duo off the side of the building. The two plummeted from the rooftop and into a neighboring wall, the pointed tip that protruded from the back of the Shinigami's shoulder ramming into the brick surface. With a shrill laugh, Vuulpin broke off his own left arm and floated back, leaving Yumichika effectively pinned against the wall.

"How very disappointing, Shinigami," the Arrancar's metallic voice called out teasingly, his arrogance implying that he felt no concern or pain at his sacrificed limb. "I was hoping you would have fought more valiantly than that."

Yumichika groaned and grabbed at the pike that kept him flush against the side of the building. The pain in his shoulder was excruciating; he could feel the jagged fragments of bone floating freely within his flesh as he attempted to pull the stake out of his torso. His immobility only elicited another laugh from his opponent.

"I will thank you for making my mission an easy one, however." Vuulpin continued, the crescent-shaped curve of his helmet gleaming under the waning moon. "It seems as though I will be killing you swiftly, after all."

"Oh really?" Yumichika laughed out dryly, his mouth curving up wickedly, his face splattered with his own blood. The Arrancar's prideful smile fell slightly at his opponent's sudden confidence.

"Split and deviate, _Ruriiro Kujaku."_

The four blades at his side began to glow a vivid shade of green before lashing out quickly at the Arrancar. What were once solid scythes had transformed into dozens of emerald vines at the wielder's command. They wrapped themselves around his ivory-armored body and constricted him, the luminescent ropes immobilizing his movement. The vines began to pulsate in their glowing and small blossoms began to form along their lengths as the Arrancar's energy began to get sapped into them.

A swath of violet light arced viciously through the air, completely severing the vines from the hilt in Yumichika's hand and the Arrancar's body. Yumichika's jaw hung open in surprise as Vuulpin smirked victoriously. A purple ball of light had manifested itself in front of the Arrancar's chest, the sphere swirling and pulsating steadily in the air.

"Did you truly believe that your simple constriction attack would work against me, Lieutenant Ayasegawa?" Vuulpin smirked down at Yumichika, his eyes dancing in a taunting manner. "Behold my _resurrección's _greatest attack, _Tiburón Azotador. _Before this indestructible light,I will crush your bones and end this farce."

The luminous sphere lashed out then, morphing into a long and tail-like arc. It struck against Yumichika's pinned torso, the powerful blow knocking the wind out of him. It felt as though he'd just been whipped by a belt of sandpaper, both his robes and skin ripping under the force of the attack. The Hollow laughed as the light seemed to act upon its own desires and rain down more lashes upon the Shinigami's body. Yumichika cried out defiantly with each whipping, the clothes over his chest quickly becoming tatters, his exposed skin opening in broad bands of blood.

The onslaught suddenly stopped, leaving Yumichika to simply hang his head in exhaustion.

"To show my disdain for your weakness, Shinigami," Vuulpin said, the purple light reforming into the glowing ball before his chest, "I will not kill you. Instead, I will leave you to rot here and think about how the Hollow have truly become stronger than—"

Yumichika began to laugh weakly but heartily, cutting the Arrancar off as blood dripped from his wounded lips.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Yumichika laughed out in insolence. "You're gonna need to do a lot better than this to kill _me_ off."

The Arrancar's eyes narrowed as the violet sphere began to reshape into its deadly whip, his released form preparing to kill the arrogant Shinigami. But as the vicious lashes prepared to rain down once more, a massive swelling of _reiatsu _forced the energy belt backwards and caused Vuulpin to widen his eyes in shock at the smirking Shinigami before him.

"_Bankai."

* * *

_

"Hiyori!"

Shinji hollered out as the small girl bolted for the door. She turned and shot him an angry look, but stopped nonetheless. She crossed her arms, looking at him impatiently. He said nothing for a moment, instead opting to glare at her sternly.

"_What?" _she hissed out when he didn't reply for a full minute.

"Where are you going?" he asked casually, his body still naked under the sheets of the motel bed they had, until just recently, been sharing.

"What kind of stupid question is that, dummy?" she growled. "Are you telling me that you can't feel the—"

"Of course I can feel them; the Espada have finally made their move. It still doesn't answer my original question, however." He propped himself up on his elbows, the sheets sliding off his naked torso.

"Do you just want me to stand here and do nothing?" she asked indignantly, her eyes searching for some sort of reason in his stoic features. "Isn't _this_ what we've been waiting for?"

"Yes it is," he said calmly, his relaxed tones practically forcing her to come closer to the bed.

"Then why don't you want me going out to fight?"

Shinji sighed and closed his eyes. He loved Hiyori with all of his heart. Maybe not as a wife, or even as a sister, but he did love her. When the Vizards had first been banished from Soul Society and Kisuke had helped them to contain their inner Hollows, they'd all gone their separate ways. Despite the fact that Shinji had pleaded for all of them to stay together, to create a team, it seemed that they each had wounds they needed to heal on their own.

Hiyori had been the first to come back. And they'd been practically inseparable since.

But regardless of the strong feelings he held for the little blonde firecracker, she could really be obtuse.

"Think about it, Hiyori," he said, standing up from the bed, the sheets falling unabashedly from his lower body. He smirked as he saw her eyes drift down below his waist. "We've done all this planning to create this little alliance of ours; tonight is the first _true_test of their abilities." She looked off to the side as he slipped his pants back on.

"Would you go out and help them?" he asked slyly. "Or would you rather wait and see if they sink or swim?"

Hiyori sighed and placed her zanpakuto back up against the wall by the door. The look on her face screamed with resentful understanding as she walked back towards him and sat on the bed. Shinji smiled and sat down next to her, loving how he was _always _right about _everything._

"I'm just so fucking _bored,"_she said as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

Shinji leaned his head on top of hers and sighed contentedly.

"Just be patient," he said softly, his arm wrapping around her waist and bringing her closer. "After tonight, we get to make _our_ moves."

* * *

_**author's note**_

_and we're back. sorry about the delay in chapters; i was inventing arrancar. you'll see the rest of them soon, i promise._

_and i have no idea what my yumichika kick is all about lately, but he's so much fun to write for. and yes, you'll get to see his bankai soon._

_for those of you playing the language game, the answer was 'spanish' for this chapter. any guesses on next chapter?_

_**del**__, i hope you enjoyed?_

_and i forgot to give a shout-out to__**fourwalls**__last time. she roxx._

_**rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreview!**_

_jta!~_

_**pistolero - juno reactor**_


	10. Low I: Warszawa

_**Low I:**_

_**Warszawa**_

"Are we lost _again?" _Mashiro's voice rang out in the dense, mineral forest of the _Menos. _"I told you we shouldn't have listened to Tomato-head!"

"Tomato-head?" Renji yelled over his shoulder, his brow tightening in anger. "Who are _you_ to make fun of people's hair?"

"Just ignore her," Kensei said from his side, speaking gruffly but under his breath. "She gets like this any time she has to walk for more than five minutes."

"I'm sure it doesn't help that Kensei's here, too," Mashiro called out once more as she crossed her arms like an angry toddler. "He's such a _dummy_."

"_Dummy?" _Kensei yelled as he whirled around, balling his gloved fists in rage. "I'll show you a dummy!"

"_Just ignore her, _huh?" Renji asked in an exasperated tone, rolling his eyes as the two Vizards began their fourth yelling match of the day.

Soi Fon couldn't help but chuckle. While these little comedic acts were painfully immature, they _did _help in breaking the monotony of the Menos Forest. Aside from the two or three herds of _Gillian _they'd encountered, the subterranean jungle was rather unremarkable.

Her eyes darted off to the left as she felt Grimmjow's _reiatsu _die down once more. For some odd reason, she didn't need to concentrate on his energy; her mind would always shift whenever Grimmjow's _reiatsu_ altered. After their first encounter with the _Gillian, _she'd felt his spirit power skyrocket. She'd absentmindedly kept her attention on him ever since, knowing full well that he'd be alright.

If there was anyone in the universe that Soi Fon held the upmost confidence in, it was Grimmjow Jaggerjaques.

During their twenty-five years together, they'd learned countless things about each other. She'd learned that he hated pork, but liked rare beef. She'd learned that his favorite color, surprisingly, was orange. She'd learned that he loved full moons and high noons.

And she'd learned that his fists would keep swinging until the last drop of blood had fallen from his body.

Grimmjow would always remain a ferocious and pragmatic tempest to her. Yet she wouldn't have it any other way. His recklessness and feral attitude had always been a staple of their relationship, but he wasn't without his little surprises. Once, and only _once,_he'd taken her out to a formal dinner, despite his obvious discomfort in a suit and tie. She couldn't tell if he'd been put up to the date or not; after all these years she _still _couldn't. Either way, she'd spent the entire night afterwards repaying him in their favorite fashion.

But he could also become a _complete_ enigma. Soi Fon knew that Grimmjow loved winning more than anything in the world; for him, being looked down upon was worse than a slow and excruciating death. Yet on more than one occasion, he'd allowed a couple of academy grads to beat him in a practice match. Not to mention the handful of times he'd let her win against him.

As much as it hurt her pride to admit, Soi Fon realized that her third seat could kill the majority of Soul Society with his eyes closed. And in a one-on-one fight between the two of them, Grimmjow Jaggerjaques would more than likely emerge as the victor. And yet every time they'd fought against each other, she'd claimed the victory.

With the exception of two instances, of course. Once during the Winter War, and once during a drunken argument. But she'd actually been trying to kill him then; to this day, she was still happy that he'd beaten her. Those were of the few times in her life that she was happy she'd lost a fight.

Regardless of her confidence in him, however, she couldn't help but be on the ready to run to his aid. After twenty-five years of constant companionship and love, she couldn't allow his sense of pride to destroy what they had. If his ass needed bailing-out, she wanted to be more than ready to run that gauntlet to his aid.

"Kensei!" Mashiro's voice rang out, jolting Soi Fon out of her thoughts. "I'm _tired! _Can't we just get out of this cave yet?"

"Mashiro," Rukia spoke softly at the whining girl's side, "it's not that simple. There are only a few exits from the Forest of the Menos, and—"

"Why can't we just break through the top?" Mashiro cried as she fell to the ground and began to kick and punch the sand beneath her.

"Shut up, you big baby!" Kensei yelled out, his face turning a shade of angry red. "If there was ever a moment in your long and irritating life that you could just shut the _fuck _up, it would be right—"

The bellowing roar of a _Gillian _halted the Vizard's words in his throat.

Soi Fon immediately pulled _Suzumebachi _out from his scabbard, her instincts taking over at the sounding of a Hollow's cry. She held the blade upside down as she awaited the appearance of the unseen _Menos, _her eyes staring harshly into the dark unknown of the jungles beyond. Another howl ripped out through the silence, each of the Shinigami gripping the hilt of their blades tighter at the sound.

With a deafening roar, a blindingly bright _cero_ crashed into the sand next to Soi Fon. She leapt back and upwards, the gold and black of her _shikai _melding itself around her wrist as she leapt up to the ivory face of the monster. With a quick pair of jabs, Soi Fon extinguished the massive Hollow, its towering black form disintegrating into nothingness as the two black _homonka_twisted together in unison upon the beast's cheek.

She fell from her high leap effortlessly, her lithe body quickly and victoriously descending from the air, when another _cero_ripped through the atmosphere. Soi Fon quickly twisted her lean and limber body in mid-air, allowing the burning crimson to blow harmlessly below her midsection. Flipping herself backwards, Soi Fon readied herself for an offensive attack when she heard a small voice call out from below her.

"Next dance: _Hakuren!"_

Once more Soi Fon spun out of the way as a massive wave of ice flew towards her. The lieutenant of the fifth division's icy _shikai _slammed into the massive body of another _Gillian, _freezing the giant in its tracks. Soi Fon twirled herself around and kicked outwards, her foot crashing into the pillar of ice that held the giant Hollow's imprisoned form. The frozen structure cracked under the force of her kick, sending the glaciered _Menos Grande_into pieces upon the ground.

As her feet touched the ground however, Soi Fon noticed that an entire pack of _Gillian _had surrounded their little quintet. As her eyes looked up and out, she could count at least twenty of the white masks soaring above her head. Realizing that the horde was too much for even their elite team of fighters, Soi Fon began to charge up her _shunkou, _inviting the swelling power in each of her four limbs.

Yet as soon as the crowd of _Menos _had appeared, did they begin to vanish. Soi Fon stood in silent confusion as the last of the towering warriors retreated from them. She looked around herself, making eye contact and mentally agreeing with the confused looks that adorned her companion's faces. _Gillian _were supposed to be mindless beasts, so why were they running in fear after the killing of their brethren?

Almost as quickly as Soi Fon had asked herself this question did the answer appear.

Stepping into the small clearing that the five Shinigami had occupied was a pair of Hollows, each relatively human shaped. One of the two ghouls was obviously female; a pair of smooth and bland breasts adorned her chest, drawing attention from her hideously white-masked face. The other Hollow took the shape of a young boy, his underdeveloped torso shining out from beneath his skull-like face.

"Do you see this, Yseult?" the smaller of the two Hollow asked his feminine companion, his voice echoing out through his ghastly mask.

"I do, Drystan," she replied, her words sounding equally as unnerving behind her ivory mask. "The Shinigami have invaded _our_ forest."

"What do you suppose we do with them?" the boy-hollow asked, ignoring the defensive postures of his opponents.

"Well that's obvious," Yseult replied, her clawed fingers shining in the dim light as she spoke."We must kill them, Drystan."

* * *

Grimmjow Jaggerjaques stalked his way through the forest of the Menos Grande, his hands held casually in his pockets. He was searching out into the crystalline trees, his _pesquisa _grasping out for a familiar _reiatsu _that he'd "misplaced".

He needed to find his goddamned zanpakuto.

Gantenbainne Mosqueda had given him a little more trouble than he'd expected. The orange-haired Espada had managed to land a rather painful blow on Grimmjow after their aerial fight had resumed. It hadn't done much; aside from slightly scarring his arm and severely irritating him, the yellow blast shouldn't have been much of a concern to him. Truly, it should have simply been shrugged off by the former Espada. But he'd allowed his temper to get the best of him. With a snarl, Grimmjow had thrown his sword at Gantenbainne, _Pantera's _blade shooting into the other Arrancar before sending him plummeting to the ground.

And now Grimmjow was looking for the man that his sword was attached to.

As careless as his attack had been, the blue-haired Arrancar wasn't too concerned. He could feelthat Gantenbainne was severely injured; the blue flame that represented his spirit power within Grimmjow's _pesquisa _was barely flickering. He could also feel that his zanpakuto was in the same exact location as his enemy, more than likely having injured the Espada enough to leave him immobilized. If Grimmjow could just figure out where the two sets of _reiatsu _actually were, he'd be in great shape.

As he moved deeper into the forest, the majority of Grimmjow's attention was suddenly forced elsewhere. He could feel that the spiritual signatures that belonged to the rest of his team were beginning to flare up again. Even during his fight against the former _Privaron, _Grimmjow had kept some of his attention on their _reiatsu _levels_,_mentally noting whenever they began to rise. As of this moment, the distant quartet had run into three separate conflicts, each one with _Menos-_level opponents. Despite his attentiveness, Grimmjow held little fear for their safety; he knew that Soi Fon could take care of a horde of _Gillian_ by herself. The fact that the other four were with her simply helped boost his confidence in their overall wellbeing.

Grimmjow had sparred against Soi Fon countless times and he knew her abilities almost as well as he knew his own. Hell, a couple of times he even had to fight her _for_ _real_. In their twenty-five years together, Grimmjow had learned – the hard way – that he should refrain from doing two things around his captain: the first was to _never _get drunk and insinuate that her small collection of black cat accessories was childish. The second was that when she locked him out of her room, it was a bad idea to pound on the door until she answered. Either of these things, which had incidentally happened in tandem one night, could leave him with an extremely venomous dagger at his throat.

Couple this event with the time that she'd tried to kill him during the War, and Soi had cut Grimmjow's proverbial nine-lives down by two.

Still, he couldn't help but pay attention to them. Despite Soi Fon's high level of ability, she wasn't invincible. She could outrun and out-maneuver almost any opponent, but she lacked physical endurance. The only reason that he'd been able to survive her first attempt on his life was because he was physically stronger than her. A couple of well-placed punches had left her on the ground. Grimmjow knew that one wrong move could easily cost her the fight, if not her life. So he maintained at least a corner of his mind on their whereabouts. If anything were to happen to them, to _her_, he wanted to be there as fast as he could.

_After I find my fucking sword, of course._

Grimmjow stepped further into the mineral forest, his sharp eyes burning into the darkness for any sign of his wounded opponent. He could feel the presence of his _Pantera _nearby and, for the life of him, Grimmjow couldn't understand why he couldn't see the bright colors of Gantenbainne Mosqueda. Surely his ridiculous orange afro and white uniform should shine out like a beacon in these abysmal woods.

Grimmjow suddenly blinked hard as a falling water droplet smacked the tip of his nose. He reached his hand up to his face and wiped, removing the liquid from his skin. As his palm pulled away, however, he finally caught a glimpse of color in this monochrome forest. He held his hand out and noted the crimson streak that was spread along his fingertips. As he looked down at the strange blood, wondering why the hell it was on his face, another droplet fell into his outstretched palm. Followed quickly by another.

And another.

Grimmjow looked up and smiled, his eyes trailing the scarlet trickle up through the air; high above his head hung Gantenbainne Mosqueda, his white-clad body pinned to a crystal tree as Grimmjow's zanpakuto stuck out of his stomach.

The blue-haired Arrancar slowly lifted himself into the air, his hands returning to his pockets as he gradually ascended to his opponent's altitude within the canopy. Grimmjow came to a stop as his eyes looked directly into those of the groaning Espada. Gantenbainne's head drooped slightly in exhaustion, blood staining his lips and chin. He looked up into the blue eyes of his former superior; his face had grown pale and was gleaming with sweat. The flesh around _Pantera's _blade was ragged and torn, showing Grimmjow that his captive had struggled to release himself from his entrapment against the pillar behind him.

Grimmjow reached out and tugged slightly at the handle of his sword, noting that it was holding fast inside the abdomen of the other Arrancar. Gantenbainne groaned in pain as the metal within his intestines moved at Grimmjow's touch. The former Espada smirked viciously as Gantenbainne's teeth grinded together in pain, blood coming out from his stressed gum-line.

"Did you know," Grimmjow asked casually, again twisting the grip of the zanpakuto in his hands, "that within Soul Society's second division there is a sub-unit called 'the Punishment Force'?" Gantenbainne glared at him, but Grimmjow gleefully continued.

"While I'm usually assigned to the 'Detention Unit', my captain will occasionally request my assistance within the other units. Assisting within the Punishment Force is, by far, my favorite." Grimmjow licked his lips slightly as he looked into the defiant eyes of his captive, his tone slightly mocking. "Wanna take a guess on what we do in the Punishment Force?"

Gantenbainne snarled and spat blood into Grimmjow's face, the deep crimson liquid landing against his cheek with an audible splatter. Grimmjow chuckled slightly as he once more found himself wiping this man's blood from his face.

He lashed out quickly, planting a fist into Gantenbainne's gut, just to the right of where the sword entered his flesh. The orange-haired Espada gasped out in pain as more blood fell from his mouth. Grimmjow stepped back slightly before sending another jab forward, his fist plowing directly into the face of his imprisoned victim. The bone of Gantenbainne's nose crunched under his knuckles and his head snapped back, banging loudly against the crystalline tree behind him.

"In case you couldn't tell," Grimmjow said calmly, shaking his hand slightly after the punches, "we _punish _people in the Punishment Force."

Gantenbainne looked up at him, one of his eyes beginning to swell shut against the broken bones in the bridge of his nose. Despite his obvious pain, he kept his good eye trained harshly on Grimmjow; if anything, the blue-haired Arrancar had to commend this man for his ability to take a good beating. Still, he had a mission to accomplish; there was no time for admiration.

"Now," Grimmjow continued pedagogically, his voice sounding as though he was a professor giving a study lesson. "These punishments are usually, but not _always, _accompanied by an interrogation. The length and severity of the punishment directly correlate with your responses during the interrogation. You followin' what I'm sayin'?"

When Gantenbainne simply looked away, his brown irises cutting swiftly to the right, Grimmjow once more lashed out at him with his hand, the back of his balled fist arcing across the other Arrancar's jaw. He immediately crossed the hand back the way it came, his knuckles smashing into the cheek of his victim. As Gantenbainne's head flew to the side, Grimmjow locked his fingers upon the man's throat, his palm crushing against his windpipe, forcing the battered face to look at him.

"You don't seem to get how this works," Grimmjow said sharply as fresh blood began to leak from his victim's flesh. "When I ask a question, you _answer_ it. Otherwise I get to hurt you some more. Understand?"

Despite the severe force against his throat, and the threat that it implied, Gantenbainne still refused to even meet Grimmjow's eyes. In a lightning-quick movement, the former _Sexta_Espada's hand reached down and grabbed at his opponent's. With a disturbing level of ease, Grimmjow snapped Gantenbainne's index finger backwards, the bone breaking as the tip of the digit touched his own wrist. The action was soon repeated with his middle finger, the _Décimo _Espada groaning in pain along with a sickening crack. Grimmjow's grip slid over to the next finger in line, but stopped as his fist closed upon it. He regarded his fellow Arrancar with a wicked grin.

"Do you _understand_?"

Gantenbainne, his pallid face reddening against the pressure on his neck and the pain in his hand, nodded slightly as his good eye maintained its burning focus on Grimmjow. The blue-haired Arrancar chuckled slightly and released the grip on his throat, causing him to suck in a breath of much needed air. He left his fist curled around Gantenbainne's finger, twisting it slightly as he began to speak again

"Glad we're finally on the same page," Grimmjow said, his casual tone returning as his wrist flicked sharply to the left, snapping the bone of his captive's ring finger. "Let's start off with an easy one, shall we?" His eyes darkened slightly as he spoke, his voice cutting through the Arrancar's groaning. "Where's the _hogyouku?"_

"I don't know," Gantenbainne said hoarsely, his voice trembling slightly as he tried to maintain control over the pain that was coursing through his entire being. "I've only seen it once. Halibel hides it whenever it's not being used."

"Halibel?" Grimmjow asked, genuine surprise ringing in his voice. "_She _came back? Who the fuck else is in _Las Noches?"_

"Halibel and Stark are running things," he responded through broken lips. "Everything else is a revolving door; none of the Espada's ranks have stayed the same for more than a year."

Grimmjow's head began to spin slightly. Halibel and Stark had the _hogyouku _and had amassed a following? It was too out of character for the two of them to continue their attack on Soul Society without Aizen's direction. It was well known within the Espada that the _Primera, Segundo, _and _Terceira_ followed Aizen Sousuke solely for their own benefits. The idea of them propagating Aizen's ideals in his absence was mentally staggering to him.

"How long has this been going on?" Grimmjow asked gravely, forcing himself back to the interrogation. He didn't like what he had heard thus far; the sound of their enemies having any sort of organization within their ranks was extremely alarming. He'd much preferred the idea of these new Espada being a rag-tag collection. But now they held the _hogyouku _as well as an army that could very well be stronger than the one Aizen had put together. This could prove extremely problematic.

"I joined them ten years ago," Gantenbainne croaked out, interrupting his thoughts. "But they'd had their plans laid before then."

"What are they planning?" Grimmjow glared forward into the face of his detainee. Gantenbainne smirked and chuckled, his weak voice coming out in a taunting snicker, but he did not answer the question.

"_What are they planning_?" Grimmjow asked again, his voice seeping out through angrily clenched teeth. When the Espada before him once more ignored the inquiry, the arrogant smile still held on his face, Grimmjow reached out and grabbed him by the throat once more.

"_Answer the fucking question_!" he yelled, his voice ringing out and echoing through the mineral canopy. Gantenbainne continued to hold his intense stare on him, causing Grimmjow to reach down with his free hand and rip the blade out from its hold in the Espada's flesh. The orange-haired Arrancar choked up blood in surprise as the zanpakuto was pulled from his belly, the red liquid sputtering out of his mouth and speckling upon Grimmjow's forearm. The former Espada growled as he looked at the man's face, his now blood-splattered left hand acting as the only thing keeping the Hollow pinned against the crystalline pillar.

Grimmjow suddenly sliced downward with his sword and removed Gantenbainne's left arm; a clean cut, the blade severing the limb just below the shoulder. Within the same movement, Grimmjow sheathed _Pantera_ and pulled his opponent's katana from its scabbard. He quickly placed the thin blade of _Dragra _through Gantenbainne's chest, successfully re-pinning him to the stone column with his own zanpakuto. Blood sprayed out from both of these fresh wounds, and a storm of the vile liquid spewed out into the darkened air.

He released his hold on Gantenbainne's throat then, allowing the orange head to fall forward in fatigue. Despite the loss of his arm and the newly opened hole in his torso, Gantenbainne Mosqueda hardly made a sound. For all intents and purposes, the noise that came out of his mouth should have been a scream of agony. Instead, only a small series of ragged gasps escaped his ruined lips.

Grimmjow scoffed and turned in the air slowly, his back now facing his former compatriot; he knew that the man before him was about to perish. No amount of torture or violence could pull an answer out from his broken jaws. With a dejected grunt he began to leave, once more seeking out the _reiatsu_of his comrades. Whether it was because of his hatred for Soul Society or his loyalty towards the new Espada, Gantenbainne wouldn't be answering anymore of his questions.

"Grimmjow."

The voice was barely audible, but it was enough to surprise him into turning around. Gantenbainne Mosqueda was lifting his head up from his chest, trying his best to make eye contact with Grimmjow. Despite his curiosity being piqued, the former Espada made no indication of interest aside from a slightly arched eyebrow.

"Why?" his former companion asked, his voice bubbling slightly against the blood in his throat. "Why did _you_ join Soul Society?"

Grimmjow's light blue eyes widened at the innocuous question. There was no malice or scorn contained within those words; only a true air of confusion had laced the dying man's inquiry. Grimmjow sighed and stepped closer to his fellow Arrancar.

"Because they gave me the opportunity of another chance," he replied sincerely. "Because they took me in when Aizen had cast me aside."

Gantenbainne smiled weakly with blood speckled lips. "How lucky you must feel…" His voice began to fail him as the trickle of blood from his stomach lessened. "To sit at the top again… to be treated as an equal… to be cared about… _when_…"

The last sentence washed out as Gantenbainne Mosqueda, the last of the original Arrancar, faded away into death.

Grimmjow Jaggerjaques sighed lightly before turning around and walking away, leaving the bloodied body of his former companion stapled against the rocky post. Despite the information he'd gained, the interrogation had left a sour taste in his mouth. Though it was true that he'd carried out his share of tortures, Grimmjow still despised the job.

His head snapped up as he once more felt Soi Fon's _reiatsu_flare. It wasn't too far away this time; he knew he could make it in less than five minutes. Nonetheless, he began to move as fast as he could.

The fact that her energy signature was accompanied by a pair of _Vasto Lorde_was more than enough to get him moving.

* * *

Stark watched the Menos Forest with passing interest, his droopy eyelids widening only once at the appearance of Hueco Mundo's final two _Vasto Lorde. _Aside from this, however, things were simply uninteresting. After all, he'd already lost his curiosity in those two Hollow long ago; they were adamant about remaining underground, so he'd long since considered them dead.

It was these new intruders that had held his attention.

Stark had left _Las Noches _under Halibel's jurisdiction. While he understood the importance that the next few days held for their mission, he'd also had an epiphany. He could no longer afford to spend his hours locked under the dome of Aizen's castle; he knew that Halibel could efficiently direct the actions of their army, therefore he'd given her control. If he needed to take investigate something, he felt as though their initial plans could continue without his input.

He had come up with a secondary plan, anyway.

As he floated within the darkened canopy of the Menos Forest, Stark mused over his new course of action. He had held his hopes high for the former _Sexta, _but recent events had left him doubting his initial instincts. While Grimmjow Jaggerjaques was still a cold-blooded killer, his alliances were whole-heartedly with Soul Society. Stark knew that approaching the blue-haired Arrancar would only result in an unwanted conflict.

It was a damn shame, too. Had he been able to be swayed, Grimmjow would have made a wonderful addition to their new legion of Espada; after all, they still had to fill the second and fourth spots in the ranks. Who knew what power could be awakened in Grimmjow's _Pantera_after a second exposure with the _hogyouku?_

Unfortunately, the merciless defeat of Gantenbainne had spoken volumes against Stark's theory. Grimmjow had always been a bit of a loose cannon; would an increase in strength truly be a good idea? After witnessing the cruel session of torture, Stark was almost happy that he hadn't offered the former Espada his job back.

Stark sighed as he watched the _Décimo _Espada die beneath his feet.

_I guess it just wasn't meant to be, _he thought as he pressed his index finger into the air in front of him. The dark, throat-like portal opened at his touch and Stark cast a tired but weary glance back at the Menos Forest as he stepped into the _garganta. _He understood the power that this team of Shinigami held within its ranks; one wrong move and they could be toppled instantly. He simply hoped that things would go according to plan from here on out. As the _garganta _closed, he smiled.

In the spirit of imperialism, he was going to visit the transient world once again.

* * *

_**author's note**_

_sorry again for the delay. school was taking up my priorities._

_grimm and soi are so cute when they think of each other. and so is mashiro when she's being a moron._

_and the grimmjow torture scene wasn't too bad until my little sister came over to my apartment and read it. her immediate reaction was, "you call THAT a torture scene? grimmjow didn't even break any of afro-dudes's fingers!" so, understandably, i had to make it a bit more intense._

_sneaky stark is still sneaky._

_**rrrrrrrrrrreviews please!**__i do love them so._

_jta!~_

_**warszawa - david bowie**_


	11. Zombie Eaters

_**Zombie Eaters**_

_Hirako,_

_It has recently come to my attention that a grievous error has been made on behalf of Soul Society. In the wake of Aizen Sousuke's defeat, Urahara Kisuke has come forward about his involvement in your exile. He went into great detail concerning Aizen's hollowfication experiments, and your unwitting involvement in them._

_For the past century, we have believed our actions to be just. But in light of our newfound understanding of the Vizards, I can no longer find it within myself to impose your exile. Urahara Kisuke, Shihouin Yoruichi, and Tsukabishi Tessai have all been pardoned; I would like to extend this act upon you as well._

_Please accept my heartfelt apologies._

_The gates of Seireitei will always be open to you, Shinji._

_Retsu._

Unohana sighed down at the letter in her hands, her eyes re-reading over the copy that she'd kept for herself. She wouldn't have ever thought that sending these words off to him twenty-five years ago would come back to haunt her like this. The whole of the Gotei 13, including herself, was steeped in doubt over her decision about the Vizards. She'd made the call to trust the masked Shinigami, even though the majority of her captains wanted the vote to go the other way.

And not to mention that she now had to see Shinji again.

She'd pushed for his exile, all those years ago.

And now he was back and she couldn't help but—

"Retsu?"

Kyoraku Shunsui was standing at her doorway, a ceramic bottle in his hands and a sheepish look on his face. Unohana smiled at him, wordlessly inviting him into her quarters as she silently folded up her letter to Shinji and placed it into her desk drawer.

"Look," Shunsui said with a sigh, cautiously sitting himself across from his Captain-commander. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier; you're my Captain and it was disrespectful." His eyes looked down quickly. "And you're also my friend, and I was an ass."

Retsu sighed as she looked across the wooden desk. A few hours ago, the two of them had held a bit of a heated exchange. While an extremely uncharacteristic occurrence for either of them, the subject if their conversation had grown to bitterness and the harsh words she'd said to him had fallen out of her mouth before she'd even realized she'd been speaking. Snapping at Shunsui had been rude, but insulting the memory of her old friend Juushiro the way she had was truly unforgivable.

"No, Shunsui," she said as she reached a soft hand across the desk to his. "You were only trying to help. I was the one who spoke out of line and I apologize"

His hangdog expression was soon replaced by his more signature grin as he lifted his eyes up to meet hers. With a soft chuckle he brought the ceramic bottle up from his lap and placed it on the table. His brown eyes met hers with an almost pleading look. She chuckled lightly as she began to shake her head, already knowing the question he was going to ask.

"Aw, Retsu. C'mon?" His voice was almost as pitiful as his crocodile tears. "When was the last time you shared a drink with me?"

"I think" she said with another gentle laugh, "that it might be more appropriate to question when was the last time I shared a drink with _anyone_, Shunsui."

"Yeah, but _anyone _isn't _me!" _He began to pout, his stubble-ridden chin quivering slightly, once more making her laugh out loud. Kyoraku Shunsui was, quite possibly, the most incorrigible man in all of Soul Society. Unohana had no idea how that poor Ise could stand to be around him all day long without stabbing him in the neck.

But aside from being adorably persistent, Shunsui had a track record of getting women to do anything he wanted. And sometimes even Unohana Retsu, Captain-commander of the mighty Gotei 13, could fall victim to his charms.

Besides, she really could use a drink.

"It _has_ been a while since we've truly enjoyed each other's company," she said slyly, reaching across the wooden desk and grabbing the sake bottle, "hasn't it?"

For a brief moment, the eighth division's captain sat as still as a rock while he watched his old friend pour herself a cup of sake. But when that moment passed, Shunsui had himself a full glass within seconds. She couldn't help but smile as he looked at his cup merrily, his white teeth shining out like a child's. She lifted her own small saucer to her mouth.

"Retsu," Shunsui said swiftly, freezing her hand in the middle of its ascent to her lips. "Are you truly going to take a drink before you give me the honor of toasting your glass?"

"My deepest apologies, Shunsui," she said with a chuckle as she tapped the rim of her cup against his.

Unohana placed the drink against her lips and tilted her head back, inviting the slow burning of the liquid as it travelled across her tongue and down her throat. With a small grimace, she placed the cup back onto the table and breathed out a slow, warm breath. For what could only be the thousandth time, she recalled why she usually turned down Shunsui's offers; sake was never pleasant before the second drink.

Captain Kyoraku, by contrast, hardly made a face at all as he drank from his much larger cup. After a quick exhalation, he looked as though the burning alcohol had never even made its way into his mouth in the first place.

"You know," he spoke up as he poured another round for the both of them, ignoring the questioning look his captain gave him, "Captain Kuchiki was acting awfully odd this morning."

"Was he now?" Unohana asked wryly as she took a small sip from her second drink. She knew that any time Shunsui mentioned the noble captain's name, there would most likely be a complaint from the sixth division on her desk the following day.

"_Ah_," Shunsui said with a hurt smile, "I can see you'd rather not hear about it right now."

"Does that mean I can expect to hear about it from Byakuya tomorrow?"

"Probably."

Unohana sighed as she took another sip of sake from her cup. She could always count on Kyoraku Shunsui to eliminate all chances of a care-free day. The two of them remained in silence for a bit longer, Shunsui drinking at his normal pace while Unohana managed to slowly work her way to a third serving. With the warm touch of the liquor now cementing itself into her belly, she figured that another glass wouldn't hurt. As she placed the bottle back down after her refilling, she looked her oldest friend in the eyes and heaved a slow sigh.

"I miss him, Shunsui." The other captain shot her a questioning look. "Juushiro, I mean."

"We all do, Retsu," Shunsui said warmly as he poured another glass into his mouth.

"Remember when we used to do this back at the academy?" Unohana asked, feeling the heat of the sake working its way up to her face. "Stay up all night, just the three of us?"

"Four."

"Excuse me?"

"There were always _four_ of us," Shunsui said with a sad smile of remembrance. "Me, you, Juu, and Shinji."

"Yeah," she responded softly, looking down into her cup. "Those were the days."

"Indeed they were," he said softly, leaning over with his glass raised once more. "To better days."

Unohana Retsu said nothing as she solemnly clinked her saucer against his.

* * *

Ichigo ran through the streets of his old hometown, his white _haori _fluttering behind him.

He'd been watching Ulquiorra when he'd first heard the _garganta _open. After a quick dinner with his family, he'd immediately sought out Orihime's _reiatsu, _knowing full well that the Arrancar would make his way there by the end of the night. Ichigo had promised Ishida that he'd keep an eye on their old friend, the Quincy's wife. While the Shinigami knew that he couldn't prevent Ulquiorra from going to the Ishida residence, he wanted to make sure that he was at least there in case anything got out of hand.

Ichigo couldn't have been prouder of Orihime.

The woman had faced her former lover with steeled features, her iron glare not even faltering once. The sunset-colored hair was possibly the only thing that remained the same between the Orihime of then and now. And even still, her hair was shorter now. Ishida Orihime had made a complete transformation after Ulquiorra had left her; where the girl he'd grown up with would have broke down in tears under the cold stare of the former Espada, Uryuu's wife had stood her ground and basically told the Arrancar to kiss her ass. It was an absolutely splendid sight.

Kurosaki Ichigo and Ulquiorra Schiffer still held on to a fraction of their rivalry, even after all these years. Whereas he and Grimmjow had turned their former hatred into a sort of violent friendship, Ulquiorra's disdain still remained.

But it wasn't because of their fight in Hueco Mundo. It was because of their fight in Seireitei.

When Ulquiorra broke Orihime's heart, the whole of Karakura had wanted to slit his throat. Ichigo, with his position in Soul Society, had received the privilege of attempting to. Once he'd heard about Orihime's tears, the newly-appointed captain of the thirteenth division had marched into the first unit's barracks and demanded to speak with Unohana's lieutenant. In retrospect, it was fortunate that the Captain-commander had used her wonderful powers of foresight, and immediately told Ichigo to stand down. What should have been a bloody swordfight turned into a three hour yelling match, with each of the officers leaving the conflict in silent rage.

But that was all in the past.

Right now, Ichigo had bigger fish to fry.

He turned down a side street, his mind searching out desperately for any bit of the invading Hollow's _reiatsu. _While he'd never been all that good at feeling another's spiritual energy, he could still detect enough to get by. Yet for some reason, he could hardly feel any of his unseen opponent's. In fact, the only reason he knew they were here at all is because he'd heard their _garganta _opening. It seemed as though these Arrancar had managed to completely mask their energy. Ichigo hoped that the rest of his team was lucky enough not to get blindsided.

"Yo!"

Ichigo skidded to a halt, his sandals kicking up small flecks of gravel as his feet stopped mid-sprint. He turned around to find a short and fat Arrancar smirking at him from down the alleyway. He was wearing an entirely white outfit, the only black showing through was on the inside of his lapels. His mask was a smooth and featureless semi-circle that took up the entire top of his head, straight black hair stuck out just below the bowl-like helmet.

Ichigo pulled _Zangetsu _from his back, pointing the tip of the massive cleaver at the Arrancar as the cloth unwound itself from around the blade.

"Captain Kurosaki, I presume?" the rotund Hollow tittered in a slight southern twang, causing Ichigo to gasp in shock. "Don't look so surprised, Shinigami. You're about a goddamned legend in _Las Noches; _there ain't an Arrancar in all of Hueco Mundo that don't know who _you _are."

"Well," Ichigo said with a sardonic smile, "I'm flattered."

"You should be," the impish Arrancar snickered as he pulled a small _tanto _fromhis sleeve. "My name's Marqese Dresal, _Fracción _of the _Septíma _Espada."

The chubby man suddenly rushed forward_, _jabbing out with the knife-like zanpakuto. Ichigo blocked the miniscule strikes effortlessly with his much bigger sword, _Zangetsu's_broad blade acting as a shield against the little pokes. With a rough push forward, Ichigo knocked his opponent backwards.

Marqese leapt away before vanishing in a buzz of _sonído_. He quickly reappeared behind Ichigo, thrusting out with the _tanto _and nicking the Shinigami's shoulder before he had the chance to block. Ichigo spun and lashed out with his blade, but the Arrancar deftly rolled under the high slash. Once more the round man was able to nimbly maneuver himself into striking position, making another small cut along Ichigo's hip.

The orange-haired captain flash-stepped away, placing a sizable distance between himself and his opponent. With a quiet hiss, he placed a hand against the shallow wound on his side, crimson blood staining his white fingertips.

"You're pretty good with that little knife," Ichigo said, placing his hand back on the pommel of his zanpakuto.

"Not all of us can have a giant sword like you," Marqese snickered back, twirling his short blade in his hand.

"What can I say?" Ichigo asked, returning the sarcastic volley. "It's good to be the biggest kid around."

The spinning sword suddenly stopped, Marqese Dresal's eyes narrowing slightly.

"So size is what matter to you, Kurosaki Ichigo?" he asked, pointing the little blade forward. "Then let me impress you with my size...

"Swallow, _Congrio!"_

Ichigo stepped back in horror as the alleyway filled with the white coils of a massive and roiling monster.

* * *

Madarame Ikkaku sat alone in the training fields of his division, his legs crossed as _Hoozukimaru _lay across his lap. His shirtless chest – and hairless head – glowed dimly in the light of the moon as he meditated, his eyes closed as he mentally tried to converse with his zanpakuto.

Which was proving to be rather difficult.

Ikkaku delved into his inner world, only to find the small pink dragon asleep, his scaly body curled up beneath an eternally blossoming cherry tree. Ikkaku walked over to _Hoozukimaru_ loudly_,_hoping the little serpent would stir from its slumber before he was forced to shake him awake. Such luck was not on the Shinigami's side, it would seem.

Ikkaku's hands shot downwards and he wrapped his fingers around the body of his sword's spirit. He picked the creature up and shook harshly, grimacing as the snake-like being flailed around like a limp noodle in his hands.

"Oi!" Ikkaku growled out in frustration. "Wake up before I kick your ass, you lazy fuckin' bum!"

Despite the violent words, and the even more violent shaking, the small spirit remained locked in its slumber. Ikkaku let out a harsh growl and tossed the dragon to the ground before walking away in a huff. He truly hated how slothful _Hoozukimaru _was; it always got in the way of his fights. He began to concentrate on removing himself from this personal dimension, hoping it wasn't too late to grab a drink with Kira.

_What do you want,_ a small and irritated voice hissed out from behind him, _Ikkaku?_

Ikkaku stopped and grinned. Within the past twenty-five years, Ikkaku had discovered a way to awaken his _bankai's _power much sooner than he'd been able to during the War. After years of training, he could have the dragon's crest burning red within thirty seconds if he needed to.

But that wasn't fast enough for him.

Ikkaku wanted his _bankai _to be at full strength from the moment he released to the second he sheathed it. He was sick and fucking tired of having to do ninety-five percent of the work during his fights; it was about goddamn time that lazy lizard started to pay his dues.

"Glad you could find the gusto to wake up," Ikkaku said with a snarky chuckle. "We need to talk, _Hoozukimaru."_

_No, _the pink tinted dragon blurted, his lip curling up in a snarl as one of his whiskers twitched. He was glaring forward with one ruby-colored eye. _No, we don't._

"Don't you even think abou—" Ikkaku sputtered out, but he was too slow. The little dragon had already closed his blood-shaded eye again. The Shinigami roared out in frustration before rushing forward to kick the sleeping demon. But when his foot lashed out, it swept through nothing but air. _Hoozukimaru_had vanished in a fuchsia puff of smoke.

_Had I known,_a tremendous voice bellowed out from behind him, _that by "talk" you meant "fight", I would have woken up sooner, Ikkaku._

Ikkaku spun around to see the massive shape of _Hoozukimaru _towering above his head. _This_was what Ikkaku had come to his inner world for; the only way to make his zanpakuto follow any sort of command was to fight and force this giant dragon into submission. And the only way that _Hoozukimaru_would fight was if you could piss him off enough to force him to wake up and grow.

But like his wielder, the massive pink dragon _did _love a good fight.

With a crazed laugh, Ikkaku launched himself upwards towards the face of his zanpakuto's spirit. The giant reptile raked a gargantuan claw through the air, aiming to knock the shinigami into the ground. But Ikkaku vanished in a swift flash-step. The spirit's crimson eyes widened in shock; Ikkaku had never used _shunpo _in their fights before. As far as the colossal dragon knew, Madarame didn't even _know_ how to use the technique.

Ikkaku used this sudden advantage to reappear behind _Hoozukimaru, _throwing his sword-less hands forward and into the serpent's thick mane. The great dragon bellowed in aggravated rage as the Shinigami latched onto its back, and within seconds the creature was thrashing and slithering in a futile attempt to fling the man from its backside.

Ikkaku laughed heartily at his zanpakuto's fury; it was about time the lazy bum got up and moved around a little bit.

But his arrogance could only last so long. _Hoozukimaru _was suddenly spinning in the air, his slender and scaly body twirling in violent barrel-rolls. Ikkaku struggled to hang on, his knuckles turning red and white as his fingers fought to maintain their purchase within the dragon's mane. After another quick twirl, however, Ikkaku found himself flying through the air, massive strands of red hair fluttering through his still-clenched fingers.

With a deep snarl, the spirit whirled around and charged at the Shinigami. Ikkaku soon found himself within the mouth of an extremely enraged monster, his long arms stretching out over his head to keep the deadly set of jaws from closing upon his body. The great mouth tried to slam shut, but the Shinigami's brute strength held it open. _Hoozukimaru _did all he could to try and remove Ikkaku from his mouth. He whipped his head back and forth vigorously as his thick tongue lashed at the Shinigami's body.

Ikkaku once more laughed against the dragon's failed flailings, both of his hands grasping onto one of the serpent's white fangs. Unlike the hair of his mane, Ikkaku had a feeling that _Hoozukimaru_would have a much tougher time removing one of his teeth to get rid of him this time.

The warring duo suddenly stopped as an extremely familiar _reiatsu_ infiltrated their inner dimension and grabbed their attentions. Ikkaku leapt out of the dragon's maw and landed gracefully on the ground below, ignoring the strands of viscous saliva that hung from his body. Behind him, the zanpakuto spirit was equally as intrigued at the intruding energy signature, his giant snout pointing slightly upwards as if sniffing for something.

"Oi, _Hoozukimaru," _Ikkaku called out with a broad smile, "you feel that?"

_It would seem…_the giant dragon responded with a nod, his crimson eyes staring off into the distance as an equally amused grin stretched across his scaly mouth, …_that someone has made Ruriiro Kujaku very angry._

_

* * *

_

_The eleventh division's lieutenant had just stepped out of the shower when a cocky voice chuckled behind him._

_Twenty years after Aizen's defeat, the narcissistic spirit within his blade had finally revealed itself to him, _Ruriiro Kujaku's _beautiful lips curving up in an arrogant smirk as he snickered at his Shinigami within the confines of Yumichika's quarters. It was the first time that his blade had ever materialized into the physical world, and Yumichika had been utterly surprised._

_He'd turned swiftly, his naked torso facing the teal spectre behind him. _Ruriiro Kujaku_was sitting on Yumichika's bed, his legs and arms crossed in a defiant manner. The zanpakuto spirit was an exact replica of its wielder, with the exception of having emerald-tinged skin._

_"What's so funny?" Yumichika asked as he unabashedly, and impressively, doffed the towel around his waist and glared into the eyes of the spirit before him, "_Kujaku?"

It would only be so appropriate_, the apparition spoke as he watched his mirror image get dressed,_ that I finally appear before you when you can't even hide your ugliness behind your tacky clothing.

_"That's saying a lot," Yumichika spat out, taking the insults in stride, almost completely ignoring the fact that he'd been training for nearly two-hundred years for this exact moment. "Considering that you're wearing those same rags, you have some nerve to insult them."_

_The poltergeist waved its wrist flippantly as it looked off to the side. _I can't help that you can only see yourself in everything, Yumichika. I only take this form because you wish me to.

_The raven-haired lieutenant smirked, his violet eyes burning through the insult._

_"Are you sure you didn't take that form so you could finally be as beautiful as me?"_

_The spirit's eyes widened for a split second at the remark, but quickly narrowed as its mouth curved up into a sneering smirk. Yumichika and _Ruriiro Kujaku _were currently in the middle of a running, century-long insult-fest. And it seemed like the fact that the spirit had finally materialized itself was going to do little to change that._

You're still so insufferable, _he said with a snarl. _But I guess expecting any less from you would make me rather obtuse, huh?

_"It would seem so," Yumichika snapped as the room around him began to melt away, being quickly replaced by a foggy beach._

_He looked around in astonishment; this was the first time he'd ever seen his inner world. His ankles were being submerged in an encroaching tide as his eyes looked out at a hazy sunrise, the light barely breaking through the mist that stretched out across an endless ocean to the horizon._

_Out of nowhere, the teal-colored version of himself lashed out with a green whip. Yumichika leapt away to the side, the thin weapon cracking harmlessly against the sands beneath his feet. The Shinigami instinctively reached down for his sword, but his hands grabbed at nothing when they reached his waist._

It's awfully ugly to watch you flail around like that, Yumichika_, the spirit said as the Shinigami's head snapped up in surprise. It was more than apparent that Yumichika hadn't expected his zanpakuto to be missing._

Ruriiro Kujaku_lashed out once more at the weaponless man. Yumichika dodged the whip-like vine, rolling deftly to the side as the attack cracked upon the surface of a rolling wave. Yumichika vanished in a burst of_shunpo_attempting to make his way around to the back of his green_doppelgänger_. He spun as he reemerged into vision, his leg hooking out, his heel aimed for the temple of his opponent._

Kujaku_ducked, allowing Yumichika's heel to glide over his head by mere inches. The spectre reached up with a clawed hand and grabbed at the Shinigami's throat. With a swift movement, it slammed Yumichika into the sand below, pinning the lieutenant's head beneath the incoming tide._

I know you can do better than this, Yumichika! _The spirit was yelling at the face below the waves, a cruel snarl spread across its beautifully mimicked face._Why aren't you crushing me with your fists, Shinigami? I thought you were finally ready!

_Yumichika vanished again, leaving_Ruriiro Kujaku_to hold a handful of wet sand. The Shinigami reappeared up the beach and stood panting for breath, his hair wet and salty and gritty. His violet irises glared across the beach at his zanpakuto's malignant spirit. The apparition stood from the water, a cocky smirk playing across his face once more._

_Looking at the jade-colored version of himself, Yumichika couldn't help but smirk back._

"_You want me to crush you?" he asked, his fists balling up at his sides. "You want me to wipe that arrogant smile off of that stolen face of yours?" Yumichika vanished and reappeared within a nanosecond, his arm cocked back as his balled fist prepared to slam into the shocked face of _Ruriiro Kujaku_. _"_I can do that."_

_Yumichika's punch landed squarely on the spirit's nose, a sickening crunch ringing out amidst the crashing waves as the phantom flew backwards into the water. The Shinigami didn't waste a second; he flashed himself forward almost immediately, catching the spirit as it splashed into the ocean. Yumichika grabbed and held his mirrored self by the lapels of its robes for a split-second before he flung its limp body outwards and into the sands of the coastline. The spirit landed painfully against a dune, the wind flying from his surprised lungs as his back hit the rough terrain._

_Once more the Shinigami was upon him, Yumichika's knee digging into his chest while his forearm simultaneously rocketed into his throat, pinning him to the earth. Despite the snarling face of his master,_Ruriiro Kujaku_began to chuckle. Yumichika's purple eyes widened in confusion, but his stranglehold remained._

And here I was thinking… _the spirit choked out in a ragged whisper, his throat being forcibly closed by Yumichika's rough ulna against his neck, _…that you weren't ready for me.

"_You thought that I wasn't ready for_you_?" Yumichika practically spat as he glared into the eyes of his imitator. "You've always _wished _you could keep up with _me_."_

Ruriiro Kujaku _smiled up at his wielder, his mouth opening to finally tell the Shinigami the name of his ultimate form._

As the _reiatsu _flare faded, the Arrancar called Vuulpin opened his eyes in amazement. The Shinigami that he'd just been holding captive had been replaced by a glowing green silhouette of his former self. While it maintained the shape and size of the lieutenant, any sort of discernable feature was completely erased within the pulsating, emerald glow. The white spike that was holding the Shinigami against the brick wall began to disintegrate, turning into ash against the burning light.

"_Bankai," _the radiant shape spoke softly, an ethereal voice echoing out of the light. "_Jikininki Kujaku_."

"_Bankai_?" theArrancar snarled slightly at his opponent. "You don't seem to understand the power difference between Arrancar and Shinigami, Lieutenant Ayasegawa; your _bankai _is nothing compared to my _Tiburón Azotador!"_

Once more the purple sphere formed above the Arrancar's outstretched hand before lashing out in a wicked whip. The violet light slashed outwards, cutting the green outline directly in half. With a maniacal laugh, Vuulpin repeated the action, slicing the grass-colored shape into quarters and eighths and sixteenths. He recalled the butchering light, the purple attack reforming in his hands as he snickered at the shapeless cloud of jade that hovered in front of him.

His arrogant smile quickly faded as the luminescent sections of the _bankai _began to grow and reshape themselves, each one taking on the original silhouette's dimensions. Vuulpin's eyes widened in confusion and fear at the frightening horde of spectral opponents that stood before him, each one as bright and large as the original.

"It seems as though you don't understand…" Yumichika said, his voice echoing melodiously out from each of the green ghosts. "…that your life ends right now, Arrancar."

Vuulpin turned and retreated, his ivory-armored body shooting through the air as quickly as possible. He didn't make it ten feet before he found himself completely surrounded by the glowing shapes of his enemy, each one appearing out of a flash of _shunpo_. He yelled out in frustration, his energy whip arcing out and slicing each member of the blockade into two pieces. But as quickly as they had been bifurcated did they reshape; the Arrancar's foolish attack had effectively doubled the amount of the lime-colored phantoms that surrounded him.

Vuulpin didn't get a second chance to attack as the thirty clones of Yumichika descended upon him, each one spearing a phosphorescent fist into his body. He could only cry out in pain for a brief second before the spectres swiftly and violently drained his energy, his body turning into white dust in a matter of seconds under the pack's ruthless assault.

As the Arrancar vanished away into lifeless sand, the green copies began to dejectedly retreat into a solitary point in the air. As the last of the ghosts merged into singularity, Ayasegawa Yumichika reappeared in their stead, his black robes surfacing from within the deep green pool of his _bankai_. His skin was now unblemished, his clothes were suddenly crisp and clean. He looked as though he'd spent an entire afternoon at a spa.

Yet his face was slack, the smallest hint of a frown touching the corners of his lips. His zanpakuto still glowed a slight shade of green as he sheathed it, his face showing no pride in his victory.

Yumichika turned to find his _gigai, _detesting the fact that he'd resorted to using his ugly _bankai_.

* * *

_**author's note**_

_alright, i guess yumichika will take his step out of the spotlight now. not that i want him to; he's way too cool to be in the background. but i do have other people to write for, so... he got his bankai and he won his fight. i guess we won't be hearing from him for a hot minute (sorry__**del**__.)_

_in other news, f1ymordecai made a cute piece of fan art for__**So;**__everyone go check it out at jasotheartisan (dot) deviantart (dot) com. it's under my favs and it's called__**Leave.**__go ahead and let her know she kicks ass. (she also gave me the idea for that little byakuya v. shunsui tidbit in this chapter.)_

_thanks to all my reviewers, you guys rock. and__**if you haven't reviewed yet**__, plz do it? they let me know that those 3000 hits are good hits._

_jta!~_

_**zombie eaters - faith no more**_


	12. Anthropomorphosis

_**Anthropomorphosis**_

"Oi," Hisagi said gruffly, raising his fingers into a V-shape in the air. "_Two_ more."

Unbeknownst to him, Captain Hisagi Shuuhei was occupying a bar down the street from the one his fellow Shinigami was currently disrupting. He wasn't having quite as pleasant an evening as Yumichika was, however; surrounded by obnoxious college students, it had taken him fifteen minutes to get his first pint of beer. And after waiting around for an additional ten for his second round, he figured that getting two of the dark drinks at a time would be the way to go.

A pair of girls were looking at him, but he could care less. In the outfit that Yumichika had picked out for him – a button-up black shirt and dark grey slacks – he wasn't surprised to find that the eyes of some silly college students had managed to drift over to him. As flattered as he normally would have been, he was on a mission now that needed his full concentration. He was trying to wash away his boring afternoon.

Back at the Urahara shop, it had felt as though his teammates were each holding plans of their own, and therefore negating his role as their leader. Which was something he didn't entirely mind. The men on this team were all friends of his – with Ulquiorra fitting into a slightly more "neutral acquaintance" category; so shouting orders at them hadn't exactly been Hisagi's plan anyway. Regardless, they'd still had a mission to accomplish, personal goals or not.

Yet the trio of Soul Society's elite had pretty much shrugged off their duties to pursue more personal matters. While Kurosaki was more than likely questioning his Shinigami father about possible Arrancar activity, Hisagi had a suspicion that Ichigo would end up making a bit of a family reunion out of the evening. The fact that the orange-haired captain's _reiatsu _had stayed in one spot for most of the night only served to further support this belief.

Ulquiorra had vanished before Hisagi had even been able to ask him to do anything. The Arrancar had completely masked his spiritual energy throughout the entire afternoon; Hisagi wouldn't have been able to sense Ulquiorra Schiffer if he'd wanted to. Although, he had a sneaking suspicion that the green-eyed lieutenant had gone to visit an old acquaintance of his. If this was true, Hisagi had absolutely no desire to interfere with that situation.

And he held even less of a need to know Yumichika's whereabouts. He had learned a long time ago to ignore the eleventh division's lieutenant whenever they were in the real world together. The last time he'd been in Karakura with the effeminate Shinigami, a good portion of the mission's budget was spent on bailing them out of jail. If Ayasegawa wanted to once more end up behind bars, Shuuhei wasn't going with him.

Again.

All of this only served to force Hisagi into being acting on his own. Solo missions weren't exactly a foreign concept to him; most of his missions had been covert ones that Captain-commander Unohana had sent him on alone. In fact, he rather enjoyed working alone – it meant that he never had to worry. He never had to worry about cleaning up someone else's mess, and he never had to worry if a partner was fully capable in his own tasks.

That said, Hisagi could have used a little bit of back-up this afternoon.

It's not that he couldn't talk to the Sado family without any help, but when one considered all the trouble that Soul Society had brought upon Sado Yasutora and his wife, Tatsuki, having a more familiar face at his side could have made things a tad smoother. The two feisty humans had obviously been on the defensive with Hisagi the entire conversation, each Hollow-related question being met with a short Hollow-related answer. The same had gone for the Asano and Kojima households. Ichigo's former companions had answered all of Hisagi's questions, but they hadn't seemed happy about it.

Shuuhei couldn't exactly blame them.

The man behind the bar counter finally walked over to Hisagi and handed him the two pints of the beer he'd ordered five minutes earlier. Hisagi immediately allowed half of one glass to vanish down his throat, the smooth drink hitting his stomach with cool pleasure. The last time he'd been in Karakura town, Yumichika and Ikkaku had convinced him to try this black drink. And ever since, he'd been craving another of the Irish stouts. For some reason, once he'd drink one, he couldn't seem to stop.

_Hmm, _he thought to himself as he finished the second half of the glass in one swallow, the alcohol already beginning to take effect in the mugginess of the bar, _maybe it's not _completely _Yumi's fault we ended up in jail._

"I like your tattoos," a slurred voice came up alongside him, snapping Hisagi out of his thoughts. He looked over to his right to see that one of the two girls had approached him and slid a chair next to him. "Especially the numbers on your cheek."

_Please don't_, he thought as he sipped from his drink, _call me 'Sexy Cheeks'. _The girl was cute, but she wasn't _that_cute. _No one_ was cute enough to get away with calling him that stupid nickname. Hisagi hadn't even known that the two numbers meant anything lewd when he'd gotten them; he was just paying homage to his former idol. But once Abarai had made a mentioning of the tattoo's double meaning, he'd never been able to live it down within his circle of friends. He'd already had to fight hard to get his division to refrain from calling him "Captain Sexy Cheeks."

He sometimes wondered if Muguruma Kensei had dealt with this bullshit, too.

"Thanks," Hisagi said casually, turning to face her.

"What do they mean?" she asked as her face drooped forward, a bit too close for comfort. Hisagi leaned back slightly, his brow furrowing at the intoxicated teenager's sloppy movements.

"Not much," he replied shortly, turning away from her to once more face the bar, "just some numbers for an old hero of mine."

"Really?" the girl asked with a chuckle, causing Hisagi to cringe. "Because my friend and I were thinking about how those numbers could mean all sorts of _fun _thin—"

"_Holy shit!_"

By some gracious act of God, the bartender yelled loudly and cut the girl off before she could finish her ridiculous statement. Hisagi whipped his eyes up only to see that the man in front of him was pointing out the window at the head of the bar. The Shinigami didn't even get his line of sight to the glass pane before he felt Yumichika's _reiatsu _surge forward at him through the air. Across the plaza that sat in front of the small pub, a grey plume of smoke was rising up from between a set of buildings.

Hisagi leapt up from his seat quickly, ready to dart out of the tavern. He stopped suddenly and turned back to the bar, picking up his second beer and pouring it all down his throat before whipping around and bolting out the door. He smiled slightly as he heard the bartender yelling for him to come back; Shuuhei was happy he was walking out on the bad service. It was a small bit of justice that would have even made Tousen proud.

Hisagi burst out into the humid night, his shoes clicking on the pavement as he rushed across the cement courtyard. He searched through his pants pocket before pulling out the small _gikongan _dispenser, reaching up and popping the small green pill into his mouth as he sprinted. His soul burst out from his _gigai,_his captain's _haori_fluttering as he looked back over his shoulder at the fake body.

"Go find somewhere safe!" he yelled out as he ran, the artificial soul nodding and dashing off in another direction.

Hisagi quickly leapt into the air and onto a nearby rooftop. He darted along from building to building, running away from the battle behind him; he knew that Yumichika probably wouldn't need any interference with his fight. And if he _did _need help, he certainly wouldn't ask for it. If push came to shove, the lieutenant could always resort to his _bankai._

A whistled catcall rang out in the otherwise silent night air.

He stopped suddenly, his sandals planting forcefully into the rooftop below his feet. He spun around to see and young Arrancar with greenish-flaxen hair and a horned ivory helmet. She wasn't wearing much, her skinny body covered by a thin vest and a skimpy set of briefs. Her legs were covered by a pair of tall white boots and her arms were wrapped in gloves that stretched up to her elbow. Hisagi couldn't see a zanpakuto was strapped to her little form, making her look even more vulnerable than her young appearance already did. She whistled again, her hands resting on her hips matter-of-factly.

"Well," she said, her voice rather mature in comparison to her young physique, "aren't I just lucky? My Shinigami is a captain… _and _he's a cute one, too!"

"Hisagi Shuuhei," he replied with a roll of his eyes, ignoring her silly comments as he pulled his zanpakuto from its scabbard, "Captain of the ninth division."

"_Hey_!" she hollered, her brow furrowing deeply. "You don't even blush when I tell you that I think you're a hottie? What's _wrong_ with you?"

"I try to refrain from flirting with my enemies," Hisagi said calmly, trying to force down the unwanted smirk that he felt rising to his lips.

"That just makes you boring, you know," she groaned, wrinkling her nose slightly. "I'm sure if you really tried, you could flirt back."

"You should be careful with what you wish for," he replied in sarcasm, "the last Arrancar to tell me I was cute ended up getting herself cut in half by my blade."

"Jeez, you're a tough cookie," the little Arrancar girl sighed, bringing her hand up to rest on her forehead. "Oh well. Since you're _so_ set on getting this thing started…" Her hand slid up from her face to her helmet as a crimson flame began to flicker up from her broken horn. Her pale fingers wrapped themselves around the flare, the fire turning into a solid handle against her touch. With a swift movement, she yanked her arm forward and pulled a large scimitar out from her mask.

"Name's Lilinette," she continued, spinning the curved blade around her hand as a large smile spread over her mouth, "_Septíma _Espada."

Hisagi briefly returned the smile before launching himself forward, the metal of his blade slicing through the night air before crashing into her blade. He swung his zanpakuto forward repeatedly, forcing her back further and further along the rooftop until her heels were dangerously close to the edge of the building. With a final swing, his sword raked into hers, sending Lilinette falling over the edge amidst a showing of sparks.

With a punching hum, the Espada reappeared behind him, swinging her curved blade down towards his head. He reached up blindly, blocking the strike as it attempted to slice through his skull. He spun quickly and swung his foot outwards, his sandal slamming into her ribs. Lilinette didn't even flinch at the attack. Instead, she calmly reached down and grabbed his ankle and twisted harshly inwards.

Where there should have been a snapping sound, there was only a ruffling of cloth as he twisted his leg in time with her wrist. He swiftly brought his opposite foot across, kicking his heel into her neck. She released her grip as she flew across the rooftop arena, landing solidly on her back. Hisagi appeared above her in a flash of _shunpo,_his zanpakuto shining in the waning moonlight as he sliced downwards with it. She thrust her own blade upward from her position on the ground, the broad curve of the scimitar halting his attack as she reinforced the block with her left hand.

Hisagi grimaced as he pushed down against her, each of their blades frozen in an overwhelming power-struggle. Lilinette on the other hand, smirked confidently up at the Shinigami, ignoring the pressure his blade was putting on her thin arms.

"You know," she said with only a hint of tension in her voice, "you look even _hotter _when you're angry."

"_Shut up_," he snapped back sardonically, his grimace turning upwards at the corners.

"Aww," she said with a fake pout as a small ball of red began to swirl in front of the vacant eyehole of her mask. "That's not very nice, Shuuhei."

His eyes widened as he leapt back swiftly, his face narrowly avoiding the massive _cero_that erupted upwards and into the night sky. The two fighters simultaneously vanished, the Shinigami with a whisper and the Arrancar with a buzz, before both reappeared at opposite ends of the roof. They were beginning to breathe heavily, despite the self-assured looks that each of them wore on their faces.

"Not bad, Captain," Lilinette said through her breaths, her thin chest rising and falling in time with Hisagi's as she tauntingly complimented him. "You're pretty quick."

"So are you," he said, returning the sarcasm, "for a little kid."

"_Kid?_" Lilinette's teeth clenched together as an angry knot formed on her forehead. "Arrancar have no age, dammit! I'm older than most of the buildings in this shitty little town!"

Hisagi's eyes widened at his opponent's sudden outburst. He didn't really mean it as an insult— well, yeah, he _did_. But he had meant for the comment to fall into the groove of playful insults that the two combatants had been trading back and forth. He hadn't really expected much of a reaction out of the girl; after all she _did _look like a kid. This surely couldn't be the first time that she'd been called such. If it was going to elicit such a temper tantrum, he surely wasn't going to crack that joke again.

And considering that he wasn't planning on letting her leave this fight alive, it was going to be the last time she'd hear it.

"_Fine,_" she said suddenly as she slammed her curved blade into the ground, glaring harshly as she spoke at Shinigami in front of her. "You think that I'm some little goddamned kid? Let me burn that idea right out of your fucking skull."

Lilinette reached down and grabbed the scimitar out of the hole it had created in the rooftop. She held it out horizontally, placing her left palm behind the curved blade. Her _reiatsu_began to skyrocket as crimson light began to envelop her lithe body. Hisagi was slightly forced back from the wave of spiritual, his right foot stumbling back as his free hand came up to black his face from the heat that was radiating off of the Arrancar girl.

"Birth," she grimaced, all the playfulness now gone from her face. "_Caudata!"

* * *

_

"_Shit_," Ichigo grunted as he leapt out from the alleyway, his back landing harshly on the sidewalk. An enormous body followed him out into the street almost immediately, the thick white tail lashing out at an incredible speed. Ichigo barely leapt out of the way as the ivory-covered creature demolished the street beneath him, its massive coils moving far quicker than the Shinigami had anticipated.

Ichigo slashed out with his zanpakuto, the cleaver-shaped blade sticking into the hardened flash of the massive body. He quickly pulled back, watching in irritation as the monster's wound began to close as a white liquid seeped out of the hole in its flesh, sealing the gash almost immediately.

_Goddammit, _Ichigo thought as he watched the released Arrancar's massive, serpentine body slink out of the alley they'd been fighting in, _I can't seem to hurt this guy!_

The _fracción _Marqese Dresal had released his zanpakuto and transformed into some sort of gargantuan eel, his massive form easily eclipsing most of the buildings around him. Every time the Shinigami would cut him, _Zangetsu's _large blade could barely penetrate the hard flesh. And when it did, the lesions would immediately heal themselves.

The Arrancar came out of the passage entirely, the forward half of his grotesque body propped up by two small arms, and his tail taking up the entire street behind him as his giant mouth grinned at Ichigo.

"So, Kurosaki," the Hollow's voice boomed out from its large maw, "do you regret it yet? That you arrogantly refused to release your _bankai _against me?"

Ichigo growled slightly as he stared down his opponent. He _had _made that foolish boast earlier. When Marqese had initially released, the orange-headed Shinigami had confidently proclaimed that he wouldn't even need to go _bankai _to kill the giant beast. This, of course, had been before Ichigo had witnessed how insanely _fast _the Arrancar's massive coils could lash out through the air.

"Regret?" he replied with a snicker. "Not even a little bit, you big freak!"

Ichigo was actually rather upset with himself, but he wasn't about to show it. If sparring against Grimmjow Jaggerjaques for the past quarter-century had taught him anything, it was to never show any sign of doubt in one's own abilities. Or never to admit that you were wrong about something. Grimmjow was rather adept at that one.

"Well then," the large Arrancar groaned deeply, his voice almost as unctuous as his long body. "Allow me to force that regret upon you!"

Ichigo was once more on the retreat as the giant white eel slithered down the street towards him, his massive bulk threatening to crush the much smaller Shinigami. Ichigo leapt up into the air as the Arrancar's mouth crashed into the street, removing the chunk of asphalt that he'd been previously standing on. Ichigo spun as he ascended in the air, his body now facing the monster below him.

"_Getsuga Tenshou!" _he yelled as he swung his zanpakuto forward, a massive arc of blue light crashing forward and into the face of the released _fracción. _The attack blew the beast backwards, his head doubling over and crashing onto his own slithering backside. Ichigo landed upon a nearby building, his brow tightened in frustration as he watched the giant Hollow writhe around on the ground. Ichigo could see that the gash along his opponent's face began to close as liquid bone seeped out of the wound and solidify.

"_Fuck it_," Ichigo hissed to himself as the Arrancar below began to recover. "I guess there's no helping it." He stuck his large sword out in front of his chest, the tip pointing forward as his _reiatsu_flared. He didn't care about his arrogant promise to the Hollow on the street below; if he needed to go _bankai, _then he would go _bankai_, dammit. Going back on his word would be far less embarrassing than losing to a damn _fracción._

"What do you think you're doing?"

Ichigo spun at the intruding voice, his eyes widening at the Shinigami that was standing behind him. His hair was still mostly black, a few strands of white sticking out along his temples that matched the _haori _that was slung over his shoulder. A long zanpakuto hung from his left hip while his right hand was tucked into his uniform in front of his stomach.

"Are you really going to use your _bankai _against this weak Arrancar," Kurosaki Isshin said with a smirk, "Ichigo?"

"Aren't you a little _old_ to be out here?" Ichigo asked as he turned back to face the recovering Hollow, trying to hide his astonishment. He'd known for a while that his father had been a captain in the Gotei 13, but this was his first time actually _seeing _it. He had to admit – he was a little impressed.

"I'm not old enough to watch my good-for-nothing son embarrass himself," Isshin said with a smirk as Marqese Dresal's massive frame rose above their building, his serpentine head towering above them. "You shouldn't need to use more than your _shikai _for this piece of trash."

In a flash of movement almost too quick for Ichigo to even see, the massive eel's gaping jaws were split up the middle, the beast roaring out as its face was bifurcated. Once more the wounds began to heal on their own, but the two Kurosaki men jumped off the rooftop together and slashed out in unison. The white monster was soon falling to the ground in colossal chunks, each one disintegrating into thin air before they even hit the tarmac.

The two Shinigami landed noiselessly on the ground as the entire length of the ivory leviathan vanished.

"Don't worry, boy," the old doctor said with a smirk as he locked his sword into its sheath with an audible click, "I won't tell anyone that your _daddy _had to save you from the monster."

"Go ahead and tell them," Ichigo snorted as he walked alongside his father, his hand reaching out and giving the older man a small punch in the shoulder. "It's not like they'd ever believe you, anyway."

* * *

"You never interfere unless you have to," a voice as smooth as caramel called out to him from behind, "do you, Kisuke?"

Urahara turned slightly so that he could see Yoruichi out of the corner of his eyes. A small smile played on his lips briefly before he turned his face back to the night sky, his eyes closing slightly as he felt the battles erupting around town.

"Yoruichi," he said with a pleasant sigh, "how nice of you to grace us with your presence once more."

With a vibrantly youthful smile, Yoruichi slung her arms around his waist and planted a small kiss on his cheek before resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Don't act like that," she said teasingly into his ear, "you know I can't stay in one place for too long. Drives me up the walls."

"You should learn to tinker with things more often," he said with a grin as he reached down to the hands around his waistline, intertwining his pale fingers with her much darker ones. "It certainly keeps the boredom at bay."

"And is that what you're doing now? _Tinkering_?"

Urahara Kisuke smirked and turned around to look his old lover in the eye. He hadn't seen her in almost five years; he'd almost forgotten how stunningly beautiful she was. While prolonged absences like the ones she took would drive most men up the wall, he simply lived with it. Urahara Kisuke wasn't like most men. When Shihouin Yoruichi left the Shop, he would find more things to work on in his labs. That was just the way things worked between the two of them. He knew she would always come back to him, just as she knew he'd always be there when she returned.

"Like you said," he cooed softly at her, "I try not to stick my hands into things until I absolutely have to, despite how interesting things here have become."

"Then why don't you help them?"

"You should know better than anyone," he replied with a dark smile, "that sometimes it's just better to watch than to act."

Her golden eyes lit up slightly before she leaned in and kissed him, her mouth gently touching his, their lips pressing against each other as if they belonged that way. Her dark fingers reached up and knocked his hat off before running through his hay-colored hair. His right hand slid up her neck and gently cupped her face as he leaned into her slightly, deepening their kiss.

"But you do understand why I've come back, right?" she asked, pulling away slightly so that she could speak. "We can only sit back for a little bit longer, Kisuke."

"I know, Yoruichi," he said with a tired sigh as a wave of _reiatsu _rushed into the Urahara Shop, reminding them that their comrades were still fighting out above the town. "But I think we can enjoy what little bit of peace is left, don't you?"

"I think that if you're _that _intent on enjoying the peace" she said with a devious smirk, "then we should at least _enjoy_ it inside."

Urahara Kisuke could only smile as she led him into their bedroom by his hand.

* * *

_**author's note**_

_first thing's first: i had an homage or two in this chapter. the most obvious was calling hisagi out on his tattoos.__**enchantable,**__who is just fantastic, writes some wonderful fics about the vizards. within those fics, mashiro makes fun of kensei for having a "69" on his chest, and she calls him "captain sexy chest". i immediately (thought this was hilarious) wondered if hisagi went through the same shit, if not worse since they're on his face. i decided that yes, he does, and borrowed__**enchantable's**__idea and called him "sexy cheeks." everyone go read her stories; they're wonderful._

_the second homage was to__**matsumama.**__she had a crazy little crackfic where everyone in seireitei had their own type of drink. she chose hisagi's drink of choice to be guinness, and i couldn't have agreed more. i never explicitly said it, but that's what he was drinking at the bar. she nailed it dead-on, so i figured i'd have him drinking it._

_third homage was to__**saigo no hajime.**__she (i think) wrote some wonderful oneshots with chad, and her last one involved him feeling bad for tatsuki. that's why i had them married in this chapter._

_anyhoo, everyone go check out their fics, it'll be well worth your time._

_also__**FANART**__! i got two new wonderful pieces of art for these stories last week. one was yumichika gaining his bankai (for 'anonymous' from__**delmarch**__), and the other was yumichika gettin down wtih rukia (for 'amore come dolore' from__**f1ymordecai**__). eveyone go check them out! (jasotheartisan . deviantart . com)_

_lilinette is teh cute lulz._

_isshin__**ftmfw**__!_

_ulquiorra's fight soon._

_sorry to everyone that wanted to see the vasto lorde back in HM. they're coming next time. (and sorry__**libello,**__grimmsoi next chapter, i promise.)_

_see y'all next week, (don't forget to__**review!**__)_

_jta!~_

_**anthropomorphosis - UR**_


	13. Wildhoney

_**Wildhoney**_

The _Vasto Lorde_ were gone.

Renji blinked in shock. They had just been standing there, the two small _Menos_a mere ten feet away from their group when they'd suddenly vanished. He snapped his head around, his eyes widening at the dumbstruck look on Soi Fon's face. Her silver irises were darting around in an almost panicked grid, her eyes searching out every inch of her surroundings as her hand stayed at the ready to stab _Suzumebachi's _stinger into anything that moved.

Renji knew then that the two _Vasto Lorde's_ disappearance couldn't be attributed to a movement like _sonído. _As proud of himself as he was, Renji would readily admit that speed and reaction time weren't his greatest attributes. He'd been out-flashstepped by almost every other captain in the Gotei 13. But when Soi Fon, arguably the fastest person in all of Soul Society, couldn't see the movements of their Hollow opponents, Renji knew that they might be in a little bit of trouble.

A small gasp rang out behind him, followed immediately by the sound of liquid hitting sand. He turned his head and looked upon Kuchiki Rukia just as the second _Vasto Lorde_stepped out of nothingness and speared its hand through her body. Renji stared in shock for a moment; his oldest friend was standing five feet away from him, her surprised face sprinkled with droplets of her own blood as the two Hollow stood with their hands inside of her flesh. She dropped her zanpakuto to the ground as her eyes gazed lifelessly forward.

"_Rukia!" _Renji yelled as he ran forward, _Zabimaru _whipping out at the pair of attackers.

Once more they vanished, causing the blades of his zanpakuto to cut harmlessly into the ground. Rukia's body, now free from the lance-like hands that had impaled her, fell to the ground in a limp and bloody heap. Renji rushed forward as a pool of crimson blood began to stain the sand beneath her. The seconds were passing like hours as he ran the short distance to her side, the blood that pounded in his ears sounding like cannons being fired in time with his pulse. His mind became one-tracked suddenly; he needed to get to her, he needed to hold her and make her better and—

One of the _Vasto Lorde _reappeared directly in front of the captain, the Shinigami's eyes widening in surprise as one of its orange hands reached out and grabbed Renji by the face before thrusting him backwards and into one of the crystalline pillars that surrounded the small clearing that they were in. The giant column shattered as his body flew through it, shards of the white mineral tower raining down upon him and cutting into his skin as he landed on the sand. He stood up quickly, the adrenaline in his body causing him to ignore the gashes in his flesh.

"Did you see that, Yseult?" the boy hollow asked as his female counterpart appeared next to him. His body was thin and underdeveloped, but otherwise smooth and bland, aside from his skin having a bright orange tint to it and the black hole that burrowed through his chest. His clawed hands were white up to the elbow and his legs matched them. His mask was a human skull with black triangles jutting up and down from the eye sockets.

"I did, Drystan," she responded coldly. While a bit taller, she looked almost identical to her fellow _Vasto Lorde. _Her skin was light green and her hands and feet were purple and her torso was adorned with a pair of featureless breasts, but ultimately they looked the same. "I saw how that Shinigami tried to steal our _dinner._"

Renji roared out in anger as he lunged back towards the pair of Hollow, _Zabimaru's_ whip-like blade arcing viciously through the air at them. His attacks had grown tremendously faster since the last time he'd been in Hueco Mundo; the pikes of his zanpakuto shot forward as fast as lightning, their intended targets not even budging an inch until the protruding daggers were almost upon them.

Once more the two _Vasto Lorde _vanished into thin air, Renji's _shikai_ slipping uselessly through the dank air of the subterranean forest. Before his eyes could even register their sudden absence, he felt a weight begin to push on his back, causing him to trip forward and land face-first in the sand. The orange-skinned Drystan was upon him, pinning his chest to the ground as he sat on the Shinigami's back.

"This one is so _eager _to die, wouldn't you agree?" he chirped happily out as Yseult appeared in front of Renji's grounded face.

"I do," she said, agreeing with her companion in a monotonous voice as a red _cero_began to swirl within her open palm. "I guess we'll just have to oblige."

With a flash, the female _Vasto Lorde_was knocked back, Soi Fon's slender frame replacing her within Renji's field of vision. Her gold and black _shikai _was still wrapped around her small fist, its long stinger dripping with the dark blood of the Hollow.

"Yseult!" Drystan yelled as he leapt from Renji and over to his fallen companion.

"Thanks," Renji said as he stood up from the ground, spitting sand out from his mouth.

"Don't thank me yet," Soi Fon responded in her cold voice, her eyes not meeting his as she looked at the two Hollow. "I was only able to land one hit on her; she's still very much alive."

True to her words, Yseult stood up from the sand, a trail of blood running down her flat stomach from a black butterfly-shaped crest over her sternum. Her eyes glowered out at the female Shinigami captain from under the bone of her eye sockets as a dense _reiatsu _began to emanate from her green body.

"That was pretty fast, Shinigami," her voice came out through the clenched jaws of her mask, the words still calm and level despite the anger that showed in her body language. "We weren't expecting any of you to be able to catch us off guard like that. We won't be so careless in the future."

Characteristically, Soi Fon didn't respond to the taunts of the enemy in front of them. She didn't need to, anyway. Muguruma Kensei appeared behind the pair of Hollow, his sword lashing out quickly at the body of the smaller _Vasto Lorde. _Drystan vanished, quickly reappearing behind Kensei and striking out with a spear-shaped hand. The Vizard spun and snapped his head to the side, the deadly fingers slicing his cheek open as they flew by his face. Kensei sliced out again, _Tachikaze's _edge once more missing its target as the boy Hollow vanished with a chuckle.

Soi Fon disappeared in a burst of _shunpo, _causing Renji to blink at her sudden disappearance. She was already trading blows with Yseult by the time his eyes were able to find her again. His eyes didn't stay on the battles for long, however; before he was even able to think, his attention was wholly and completely focused on Rukia. He ran over to his friend, his knees sinking into the blood soaked sand when he finally made it to her side.

She didn't look good. She was breathing, but it was shallow and troubled. She had a bloody hole in her stomach from Drystan's hand, the gaping fistula pouring blood out from just above her belly button. He couldn't see the other puncture; the wound from Yseult was somewhere on her lower back, but Renji didn't have the heart to move Rukia from her already fragile position. If he tried to reposition her and ended up tearing some sort of ligament or membrane inside of her…

"Move, Tomato-head!" Mashiro was yelling at him, pushing him out of the way with her small hands. "Move! I can help her!"

Renji watched with a fuzzy head as Mashiro summoned up the _bakudo _spell, the upside-down pyramid of _Tozansho _slowly engulfing his friend in a protective blue light before the Vizard girl began to heal Kuchiki's critical wounds. He couldn't believe that Rukia was so close to death in front of him; he had brought her along on this mission and now she was dying? She hadn't even wanted to be here in the first place; he'd practically begged her to come along on this mission, to be by his side as he led the team into the underbelly of the enemy forces.

And now here she was, dying in before him on the sand of the Menos Forest. Despite everything, he could feel a lump forming in his throat and water in his eyes at the sight of her bleeding body in front of him. This girl that he loved so much, that he would do anything for was dying and it was his fault because he was never strong enough to protect her. Even when he tried to stop her execution, he couldn't rise to the occasion and beat Kuchiki Byakuya. He couldn't even beat Ichigo _before_the Shinigami had become the legendary powerhouse that he is now.

_Please let her live, _he thought, hoping that anything was listening to him and hearing his desperate plea. _I would give anything to have her be okay._

Renji had read about some sort of psychology theory once when he was living with Urahara in the real world; people would try to barter with unknown forces in hopes that a dire situation would suddenly turn around and change. When he'd first read about these stages of death and acceptance, he'd thought it was absurd. The notion of a Shinigami bargaining against death had always seemed a little silly to him.

But here he was, begging for someone to save his best friend.

"Don't worry, Tomato," Mashiro's soft voice spoke up, her olive-colored eyes gentle despite the strain that the healing _kidou _was putting on the rest of her face. "I used to be the third seat in the fourth division. She's gonna be alright, I promise."

Renji looked at the girl with surprised eyes. Kuna Mashiro, the woman who had been throwing a childish temper-tantrum only five minutes ago, was suddenly speaking to him as if she were his long-lost mother. Her voice was calm and mature and everythingthat she _wasn't_. But the strangest thing was that it was working; for some inexplicable reason, he felt wholly confident after hearing those words.

Maybe his prayers _had_ been answered

A loud crash to his right cracked him out of his thoughts. A plume of sand was rising out of the earth next to him, the captain of the second division's bloodied body lying in the center of the crater that had caused the small eruption. She stood up swiftly, ignoring the blood that was trickling down from the corner of her mouth.

"Captain Soi Fon," Renji began, his senses suddenly returning to him. "Are you—"

"I'm fine," she cut him off, even though her eyes were focused on the Hollow in the air above them. A small smirk played on her lips as she dropped back into a defensive position. The arrogant smile on her face frightened Renji a little bit. It was a tad unnerving how much the smirk reminded him of Grimmjow Jaggerjaques.

"I'm fucking _great_," she said as she launched herself back into the fight.

* * *

Halibel stood outside the walls of _Las Noches, _looking out over the sands of Hueco Mundo. Her hands were crossed over her chest, her black-fingered gloves standing out against the white desert almost as intensely as her dark skin. Her teal eyes burned out at nothing as her mind spun like a vicious tornado.

She was not happy with the way things were going.

She had felt the _reiatsu_of Gantenbainne Mosqueda flicker and die like a small flame. She had told Tesla that she'd held little concern over the fate of the _Décimo _Espada earlier; that hadn't been an entirely true statement. The former _Privaron _Espada_, _as comparatively weak as he had been, was still somewhat of a valuable asset to their army. His untimely death had suddenly left another hole in their already thinning ranks within the Espada.

None of the other Arrancar had been able to reach Espada-levels of power, even after a second contact with the _hogyouku._And Halibel didn't want to risk giving some poor _numero_ a third exposure and have the experiment blow up in their faces. Literally. The destructive orb's power was still relatively unknown to them. She didn't want to risk killing off another Arrancar simply for the sake of science.

It was times like these that she wished Szayel-Aporro Granz had made it through the War.

Yet despite the slight irritation she'd felt upon sensing Gantenbainne's death, Halibel's true frustrations were with Stark. He had vanished without even one hint as to where he was headed, leaving her to angrily and begrudgingly watch over their army by herself. But Stark vanishing wasn't exactly a new occurrence; the _Primera _Espada had a long track-record of disappearing when he was needed most.

The real kicker had been when she'd felt him open the _garganta _to the real world. Her mind was still reeling with possible ideas and plans as she stared out over the moon drenched desert, trying to figure out what he was trying to do. What could _he_need that was in the ephemeral dimension?

_What are you thinking, Stark? What's in the transient world that you couldn't leave up to Lilinette? _She looked up at the permanent crescent moon, her brilliant eyes softening slightly. _I hope you aren't trying to do what I think you are—_

"Lady Halibel?"

Halibel turned from the moon to see Apache standing stiffly at her door frame. The blonde Espada smiled behind her ghastly mask as the raven-haired girl walked out to join her. Despite having become an Espada herself, Apache would still call out to Halibel with that title of reverence. Even through her extreme temper, this girl had always been the most deferential of her _fracción_. A promotion had done little to change her respectful attitude; she still showed an extreme level of respect towards her former master. Despite the small pangs of guilt, Halibel was glad that this one had survived over the others.

"Apache," she responded, her voice steady and emotionless despite her inner feeling of joy at the girl's appearance. "What is it?"

"We've just received a message from the one of the still-loyal _Adjuchas_ in the Menos Forest," Apache replied, her scratchy and boyish voice unwaveringly crisp as she gave out the report. "The last two _Vasto Lorde _have confronted the team from Soul Society."

Halibel's viridian eyes widened fractionally at this news. She hadn't heard about those two in well over a decade. When she and Apache and Lilinette had first reclaimed _Las Noches, _with Stark naturally missing from their siege, their first course of action had been to seek out the two _Menos_. If they were going to be rebuilding Aizen's army, they would need the strongest soldiers they could get their hands on. And the last known _Vasto Lorde _were the strongest that she had been able to think of.

Unfortunately, Drystan and Yseult hadn't exactly seen eye-to-eye with them. Nothing Halibel or Apache had said to the two Hollow would change their minds; they held absolutely no desire to leave the forest that had become their kingdom since Aizen's downfall.

Taking them forcibly had held even more embarrassingly negative results. When the two of them were together, they were practically untouchable. Drystan and Yseult held a rare bond between Hollow – they had a symbiotic relationship, and they used it to their advantage constantly. Whenever they were assaulted, they could actually _vanish from reality _to avoid their attackers. It was a technique they used called _Actinia de Mar;_they could combine each other's _sonído _to momentarily become nonexistent.

These kinds of mutualistic techniques were not only extremely uncommon, but dangerously powerful. The only other Hollow Halibel had ever seen to have this relationship had been her own former _fracción's Chimera Parca._

But once they had figured out that an Arrancar could gain a secondary boost of power from another contact with the _hogyouku, _however, the two _Vasto Lorde _had faded into a distant memory. Their army could easily flourish without them in its ranks.

But challenging the Shinigami was certainly an intriguing way for the duo to step back into the spotlight.

"Interesting," Halibel replied to her fellow Espada. "Do we have any idea as to how they're fairing against the Shinigami?"

"No, my lady," Apache said briskly, "but I could only assume that their _Actinia _will serve them well."

Halibel turned back to the desert for a moment, looking out over the expansive sands that stretched out for a bleak eternity, and stepped forward.

"Lady Halibel!" Apache called with widened eyes, her calm composure finally breaking as she started after her former superior. "Surely you aren't goi—"

"Don't follow me, Apache," Halibel said sternly without turning around, her steps maintaining their steady pace into the desert.

* * *

Soi Fon glided backwards through the air, her eyes once more scanning through the dank air of the forest for any sign of her invisible opponent.

She was starting to get a little bit agitated. Initially, she'd been intrigued with Yseult's apparent speed. There were only two people in her life that could out-maneuver her – Yoruichi and Grimmjow. And even then, those occurrences were about fifty-fifty; she could usually hold her own against both of them in a fight. So finding a Hollow that could move faster than her had been an exhilarating change of pace.

For the first five minutes, at least.

Now Soi Fon was beginning to suspect that these two _Vasto Lorde_were using some sort of special technique to evade her attacks. She wasn't sure if her eyes were playing tricks on her or not, but she could see a slight distortion in the air right after Yseult would vanish. And whenever Soi Fon would thrust her hand at her opponent, the golden stinger of her _shikai_plunging through nothingness instead of flesh, her fist would become extremely cold when it entered these warped sections in the sky.

She could see Kensei out of the corner of her eye, his sword having just as little luck in striking his opponent down. Soi Fon didn't really know how the two Hollow were doing it, but she knew that she needed to find some way to stop them before their team got into some really deep shit.

The temperature of the air at her back began to drop, causing Soi Fon to whip her body around just in time to dodge another spear-shaped hand. The female Shinigami thrust forward with her own hand, _Suzumebachi's _venomous tip rocketing forward in an attempt to sink into the already death-marked flesh of the female Hollow.

Once more Yseult disappeared before Soi Fon's attack could land, the Shinigami's hand again plunging through frigid and empty air. Soi Fon growled as she yet again found herself looking around frantically as she waited for the Hollow to appear once more.

Yseult rematerialized, but not to attack. The female _Vasto Lorde _had blipped back into existence ten feet in front of Soi Fon, her ghastly mask faking a vicious and permanent smile.

"Allow me to once more express my respect for you, Shinigami," the Hollow said calmly. "I never thought that any of you would have been _this _difficult to dispose of."

"I'm sorry to tell you this," Soi Fon replied, her mouth turning up into a smirk, "but I'm afraid you won't be _disposing_ of any of us."

"Well," Yseult responded, a hint of exasperation sneaking into her otherwise emotionless voice. "We have almost killed _two_ of you already. Once I remove you and assist Drystan with his opponent, slaughtering the other three should be easier than breathing."

"That's where you are mistaken, Hollow," Soi Fon responded coldly. "I'll be the one who kills _you._"

Soi Fon flashed forward, her slender body vanishing quickly into thin air. Yseult barely had time to react before the small woman was upon her, the golden dagger jutting out at her gut. The _Vasto Lorde_ blocked the attack, grabbing _Suzumebachi _at the wrist with her right hand. Soi Fon grunted against the grip as she struggled to pull her hand from the vice-grip of the Hollow. She looked up into the vacant eyes of her opponent as a _cero _began to form in the _Menos'_ other palm.

The red blast roared forward, obliterating the crystalline trees of the forest as it shot out through the darkened sky. Yseult lowered her hand slowly, noting with satisfaction that the Soi Fon was no more. She turned her attention towards Drystan and the other Shinigami, her fist rearing back as it charged another _cero._

A foot struck out of nowhere and planted itself into the side of her neck, sending Yseult flying.

"You shouldn't have let your guard down so easily," Soi Fon said with a cruel grin, her white _haori _fluttering gently in the perplexing breeze of the underground forest. "After all, I _told _you that I was going to kill you."

Soi Fon could almost _see _the grimace that formed behind the Hollow's stagnant mask. Yseult dashed forward, no longer bothering with her tricks of invisibility. Her hand stabbed forward, the javelin-like appendage shooting straight for Soi Fon's belly. The Shinigami easily dodged the attack and quickly countered with a fierce kick to her opponent's torso, her small foot striking against the _Vasto Lorde's _ribcage.

The Hollow quickly responded to the attack, reaching down and grabbing Soi Fon's ankle despite the force that the attack had placed on her torso. With a twist of her wrist, Yseult sent Soi Fon spinning up and away through the air before rushing at the female Shinigami. The two women began trading blows at machine gun speed, each of their punches and kicks and stabs occurring within nanoseconds of each other. It was almost impossible for Soi Fon to keep up with the volleys as she ducked and blocked and dodged while simultaneously attacking.

_Suzumebachi _had placed a few more black crests upon Yseult's flesh, but Soi Fon couldn't seem to ever hit the same place twice. Even though she'd never announced her zanpakuto's two-hit-kill ability, the Hollow she was fighting seemed too understand that allowing her to re-pierce one of the preexisting wounds would mean a certain death.

A well placed jab suddenly put Soi Fon on the offensive and she took full advantage of her newly-begotten upper hand. She lashed out quickly and ferociously, her dagger poking and stabbing and cutting at the _Vasto Lorde_in front of her. She was looking for any opportunity to reconnect her stinger with one of the numerous _homonka _that were sporadically tattooed across this monster's skin.

_There it is!_ She thought with glee as she saw the opening, Yseult's chest twisting directly into her line of sight and presenting Soi Fon with the opportunity to stab at the first of the hornet's crests.

Soi Fon lurched forward harshly, the tip of _Suzumebachi _shooting out towards the center of the black wings of the fatal dartboard. She would kill this Hollow here and rush to help the Vizard against his adversary. If she could exterminate this one on her own, she was sure that she and Kensei could quickly dispose of the second _Vasto Lorde_.

Yseult vanished suddenly into thin air, Soi Fon's hand spearing through cold nothingness.

_Fuck,_s he thought as her hand trembled against the cold. _I should have known better. That bitch was teasing me and I fucking fell for it!_

The female _Vasto Lorde _quickly rematerialized behind her, stabbing another javelin-like hand forward. Soi Fon reached down as fast as she could in an attempt to grab the hand before it could run her through, but she was too late. The fingers of Yseult's right hand were suddenly digging into Soi Fon's gut, the violet digits submerged up to the knuckles. She struggled against the drilling fingers; it took both of her own fists to prevent the Hollow's hand from plunging through to her organs.

"Goodbye, Shinigami," Yseult said as her left pulled back, the fingers coming together in a lethal triangle before lunging forward at Soi Fon's throat.

A black-clawed hand appeared out of nowhere and grasped the _Vasto Lorde's_ wrist, stopping the attack a mere inch from Soi Fon's neck.

"Hey now," Grimmjow Jaggerjaques said with a vicious smirk, the long blue hair of his _resurrección_ blowing in the slight breeze. "Don't be so rash, Yseult; I happen to _like_ this one."

Before Soi Fon could even react, Grimmjow's other hand speared forward and into the surprised Hollow's chest. Her blue eyes widened from within her mask's eye sockets as she looked at the Arrancar before her. His hand had reached all the way through her torso and was sticking out from between her shoulder blades. With a grunt of disgust, Grimmjow ripped his talons out of her flesh and let her drop to the sandy floor of the Menos Forest.

She was dead before she even hit the ground.

"Yseult!" Drystan's voice rang out from beneath them as he abandoned his fight with Kensei to rush over to his companion's lifeless body.

Soi Fon looked at Grimmjow's released _Pantera _with a mix of fear and awe. She'd only ever seen this form twice, and both times he had beaten the living shit out of her. Although, both of those times were admittedly her own fault. It was still an extremely welcome change that he had saved her life this time, instead of threatened it.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his impossibly light-blue eyes turning towards her in concern as his _resurrección _peeled itself off of his body and reformedinto his zanpakuto.

"I'm fine," she responded through gritted teeth as she grasped at the shallow wound in her stomach. He had just saved her life; she had absolutely _no _desire to look any weaker in front of him than she already did.

"You sure about that?" he asked with a chuckle as they both lowered themselves to the ground.

"Yeah I'm sure, you jackass."

Soi Fon couldn't help but smile at him. Though she'd held upmost faith that he would be alright, she was nonetheless elated to see Grimmjow reunited with their group. He was the man she loved, after all; if she'd lost him here, God only knew what sort of havoc she would wreak upon the rest of the team during the rest of the mission. While a Shinigami could easily resign themselves to the self-sacrifice aspects of a mission, it was an entirely different story when it came to the wellbeing loved ones.

As Abarai Renji had proven earlier with his lieutenant.

"Stay on your guard," Grimmjow said as he gripped _Pantera._"These two have been partners for an eternity; I don't know how her death is going to affect him."

Soi Fon immediately took up a defensive position, her silver eyes locking onto the orange Hollow that was slumped over the limp body of Yseult. Drystan was practically motionless as he knelt by her side, causing Soi Fon to focus all of her senses upon him. If he was going to explode, she wanted to be able to hear the sand rustle when he stood to assault them.

But he didn't attack. Instead, he began to weep silently as he looked down upon Yseult's dead body.

"_No puedo vivir sin ti"_ Drystan said with a whisper at his fallen companion, a single violet tear coursing down the white of his mask. "_Y usted no puede vivir sin mí."_

The boy Hollow stood from her corpse then, his thin arms stretching out in an orange perversion of a crucifix as he looked out at the group of warriors that were surrounding him. Soi Fon felt a small lump form in her throat; she could almost feel the loss that this Hollow was suffering at the death of his lover.

Grimmjow, however, showed no such sympathy as he stepped forward and pointed his zanpakuto at the _Vasto Lorde's _chest.

"Go ahead," Drystan said weakly as he fell back to his knees, his arms still outstretched. "I am nothing without her. Please kill me like you killed my Yseult."

The air hung still for a moment as Grimmjow's blade hesitated. The two powerful entities stared at each other beneath the desert of their mutual homeland as the Shinigami surrounding them held their collective breaths. But Grimmjow was a killer at heart, and this shined through as he lunged forward with his zanpakuto, the tip of the blade pointed directly at the last _Vasto Lorde's_heart.

A gloved hand grabbed Grimmjow's blade, the black-tipped fingers stopping it before it could pierce the flesh of the submissive Hollow.

They all stared in shock at the blonde Arrancar that had grabbed _Pantera_with her bare hand, the vicious jaws of her mask snarling silently at all of them as she gripped onto the sword.

"Grimmjow," Halibel said stoically as she held onto his zanpakuto, "I'm afraid I can't allow you to kill this one just yet."

"H-Halibel?" Grimmjow stuttered, his azure eyes widening to the size of saucers at the sight of his former companion.

Without another word, the dark-skinned Espada thrust her leg forward and kicked Grimmjow in the gut, sending him flying into one of the nearby trees. The rest of the group acted immediately, unsheathing their zanpakuto as they rushed out at the female Arrancar.

She was too fast for them.

Within a fraction of a second, Halibel grabbed onto Drystan and vanished, leaving a small cloud of sand for their swords to strike at. The Shinigami looked at one another with shocked expressions as Grimmjow recovered from his surprise attack and walked over to them.

"What the fuck was that?" Renji barked as the blue-haired Arrancar rejoined their group.

"_That_ is going to be trouble for us," Grimmjow said with an aggravated sigh. "Because she has the _hogyouku."_

_

* * *

_

_**author's note**_

_allow me to toot my own horn for a second here:_

_yseult and drystan are based off of the story of "tristan and isolde". hence their names. and also the quote that drystan said when yseult died. that was spanish for "i cannot live without you, and you cannot live without me." this is a call-back to the french version of "trisatn and isolde" where they say, "Ni moi sans vous, ni vous sans moi." (basically the same thing, except in french.)_

_the name of the chapter, "wildhoney" is a reference to the french poem about them, "chevrefoil" which means "honeysuckle"._

_also, their colorations were based off of a clown-fish (orange and white) and a sea anemone (green and purple). their symbiotic attack, "actinia de mar" basically means "sea anemone"; i was referencing thier ability to protect one another when they are together, much like a clown-fish and an anemone do on a coral reef._

_**ANYHOO**__._

_i hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. it was fun to write._

_i've gotten a handful of +favs and +reviews lately; as honored as they make me feel, i DO enjoy reading your__**reviews**__. so if you've enjoyed the past 66,000 words, please drop me a__**review**__and let me know?_

_jta!~_

_**wildhoney - tiamat**_


	14. Love is a Fist

_**Love is a Fist**_

Hisagi Shuuhei crossed the twin blades of _Kazeshini_into an X to protect himself as his _Enkosen _shieldshattered under the stream of flame that spewed from his Espada opponent. The torrent of fire abated against the _reiatsu _he funneled into the pair of sickles, allowing him to make a quick getaway in the smoke of the extinguished inferno. He immediately dove down towards the street, hiding his body behind a large dumpster as he struggled for breath against the heat that lingered on his clothing.

"Where'd you go, Captain?" Lilinette called out from the sky. "You're not nearly as sexy when you're hiding like a little boy!"

Hisagi risked a glance over the edge of the dumpster to check the position of the released Arrancar. She was hovering ten yards away from him, her back fortunately turned to him. Her _resurrección _had covered her entire body in a smooth, ivory armor_._Her helmet covered almost her entire face now, leaving only a mouth-like opening for her pink irises to see out of. Her horns were small now, and a ridge descended along her back until it former into a thick white tail. This white shell had proven extremely resilient to his _shikai, _his dual blades barely leaving a scratch against her released _hierro._

But her defenses were hardly what he was worried about. Her attacking abilities were through the roof. She was extremely fast, easily outrunning him throughout the skies of the city. Her physical attacks were also destructively powerful; one well-placed kick had sent him hurtling through the air and into a nearby building. Since she had released her zanpakuto, Lilinette had completely dominated their battle.

And then she began the fires.

When he had almost landed a blow against her, she had retracted both of her hands into her forearms, leaving a pair of holes where her fist had been. He had barely been able to dodge when these fistulas blasted forth a dual jet of flames. He had successfully been avoiding direct hits from her fire attacks up until now, but he'd been all but scorched since she'd started using the twin flamethrowers in the process.

"What's the matter, Shuuhei?" she called out once more from above him. "Are my _Lanzallamas _too much for you, little boy?"

He rolled his eyes at the repeated insult. He had made the mistake of commenting on her youthful appearance during the beginning of their fight; ever since the tides of the battle had shifted in her favor she had started shooting insults back at him. At first he hadn't cared much, but it was starting to get on his nerves a bit; he couldn't quite tell if it was the repetitive nature of the insults that kept getting him angry. Or perhaps it was the fact that he actually _was_ running around like a scared little boy and being called out on it was a bit embarrassing.

He stood and flash-stepped behind her, slinging the right scythe forward while spinning the left at his side by its chain. Lilinette kicked backwards blindly, her foot striking the weapon with perfect accuracy and sending it flying into the air. Hisagi quickly reacted by throwing the left blade at her while simultaneously yanking the chain down and retracting the right sickle.

She hadn't fully turned around when _Kazeshini's _razor-sharp edges raked across her skin. The attack was perfectly timed, but her armored covering was simply too powerful for the blades to penetrate. Hisagi grunted in exasperation before Lilinette ripped forward and slammed another foot into his chest. With a painful gasp, he flew backwards through the sky.

Lilinette appeared directly next to him as he soared in reverse. Hisagi's eyes widened as she grinned at him before twisting her body in mid-air to slam her paddle-like tail into his torso. His body was suddenly rocketing downwards as he struggled to avoid slamming head first into the asphalt below. He spun himself around in an attempt to cast a net of _kidou. _As the green _Tsuriboshi _spell expanded and caught him, Lilinette buzzed into existence directly above his face.

Her small hands retracted back into her forearms again as Hisagi struggled to form a protective barrier to shield him from the incoming attack. With a small giggle, Lilinette fired twin jets of flame at his chest from point-blank range. His body burst through the _kidou _web as the fires continued to thrust him towards the street, his sleeveless _haori _and _shitagi_ burning away completely as his body fell downwards.

A pillar of debris shot into the air as the Shinigami captain's body plowed into the ground. Lilinette hovered above the wreckage with her arms folded over her chest, a look of disappointment descending upon her face as she looked down into the smoke below her feet.

"_Shuuhei!_" she called out in an exaggerated whine, her eyes scanning the destruction for any movement. "You're not being any fun, you know! I was hoping that a damn _captain _would put up a better fight than this!"

A wave of _reiatsu _suddenly surged up through the cloud of rubble, whipping the dust away to reveal Hisagi Shuuhei. His charred chest was now adorned with a small white and crimson vest that stopped just below his ribcage. His _hakama _had also turned white, with his _obi _now a solid crimson throughout. The connected scythes were no longer in his hands, the two weapons having been replaced by a pair of pure white _khopesh._The curved blades were enveloped in a sort of pallid flame, each emitting a pale luminosity.

"_Bankai," _the Shinigami said as glared up at her from the ground. "_Hakuun Kazeshini."_

_"_I thought that a man's _bankai _was supposed to be _bigger _than that," Lilinette said with a snicker, "Shuuhei."

"It's not the size that matters," Hisagi sneered up at her. "It's all about how you use it."

"Oh?" she asked, a faux-coy smile spreading across her face. "Then why don't you prove it?"

He was suddenly gone. The Espada's eyes widened in surprise as he reappeared directly in front of her, the crooked blades in his hands glowing intensely as they crisscrossed at her neck. Lilinette leapt back swiftly, barely avoiding the scissoring weapons that would have removed her head. But as she jumped out of his reach, the thin flames that were dancing along the edge of the two_khopesh_suddenly reached out at her like white tendrils. Caught off guard, she could only raise up her arms to block against the axanthic flames as they wrapped around her limbs. The burning wisps immediately began to eat through the bone-like armor that covered her, the flames digging painfully into the skin beneath.

Lilinette leaped backwards with a yelp, the flaming ropes slipping off of her _hierro _as she retreated. She glared at Hisagi for a moment from across the sky, her pink eyes narrowing from out of the slit in her mask. He returned the stare with his cold black irises.

"Fire with fire, eh Shuuhei?" she asked, her grin returning as she placed one hand on her hip while the other retracted into her forearm again. She pointed the flamethrower's barrel at him. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but when it comes to fire, the stronger flame will always swallow the weaker one."

Without another word, a jet of fire spewed out of her arm and flashed towards Hisagi. But with a quick slash from his zanpakuto, the wave of heat extinguished as more of the smaller ropes cut through from the Shinigami's twin scythes. Lilinette gasped in shock before leaping away quickly, the white flames licking the air just in front of her small body before retreating back to their owner. She breathed heavily as she looked at Hisagi in confusion and irritation.

"I'm sorry to tell you this," he said sardonically, repeating her taunt from earlier. "But these aren't flames on my blades. My _Hakuun Kazeshini _controls the air and creates small blades of wind. And with enough air, I can extinguish almost any flame."

"Is that so?" Lilinette growled as her second hand slid up inside of her arm. "Then I'll just have to create a fire big enough that your tiny fucking breeze can't put out!"

She thrust both her arms down, the openings pointing at her feet as giant waves of fire shot out and collected in the same spot and swirled into a massive fireball between the two of them. She lifted her arms then, the sphere of flame rising while still being fed by her _Lanzallamas._ The roiling ball continued to expand as the Arrancar held it above them, the fire casting an orange glow on the city below.

"_Estrella Nova!"_

She brought her arms crashing down, the sun-sized sphere swinging like a burning wrecking ball at Hisagi. He leapt away, leaving the fireball to demolish a parking garage in his stead. Shuuhei darted back over the flaming wreckage as he tried to send a slice of wind at her open torso. Lilinette swung back, the massive sphere swallowing the Shinigami's attack within its fires. With a snicker, Lilinette swung again. Hisagi ducked backwards, but suddenly and carelessly found himself stuck against the wall of a building.

"_Shit," _he hissed as the blazing flames came crashing down on him.

The sphere plowed through the apartment complex that Hisagi was pinned against, the building disintegrating immediately as the extreme heat of the Arrancar's attack sliced into it. Lilinette cackled as the entire block was turned to ash, the Shinigami having certainly evaporated along with it.

"_Kurotatsumaki Kazeshini!"_

At the sound of this command, a massive cyclone spun its way up towards Lilinette, the black cyclone tearing the giant fireball in half. Her eyes widened in fear as the tornado ripped its way through the air and slammed into her lithe body. She brought her arms up over her face as the dark winds ripped and sliced at her small form. Chunks of her ivory armor began to crack and splinter away from her body while she was being pushed back. Blood began spilling from the numerous gashes that the razor sharp winds had placed along her body.

The tempest suddenly vanished, leaving Lilinette breathing heavily and bleeding as she attempted to recover from the attack. She looked down at Hisagi; his clothing had changed from white to black, as had his pair of _khopesh. _A small black twister swirled itself around his feet as he looked up at her with unflinching eyes.

"That attack…" she said through her gasps for air. "What the hell was that attack?"

"That was not an attack, Arrancar," Hisagi replied as the miniature tornado began to grow in front of him. "That was my second _bankai."_

"Second _bankai?"_she asked in surprise.

"My zanpakuto is special," he replied coldly, lifting one of the two black _khopesh_ to point at her. A small cyclone formed and danced on its surface as he continued to speak. "He has a bit of a split-personality. When I call out for my _bankai, _only one of these personas will come out readily; I have to really work to get the other one to respond. You're the first person to see this side of my _bankai."_

Hisagi lifted the second blade up from his side, the black whirlwind on the ground rising up into the air along with it. The pair of tornados melded into each other as Hisagi brought both of the blades back, a crooked smile spreading across his mouth.

"And it's _not_ the nice side."

He sliced both of the blades forward in another scissoring motion as the black cyclone roared forward, growing as it shot upwards at the small Espada. Too weak and exhausted to properly retaliate, Lilinette once more threw her arms up to block against the dark tempest as it slammed into her. She cried out in anguish as the spiral drove her backward, the winds completely tearing her _resurrección_apart. Hisagi halted the attack once more and watched as his petite opponent fell from the sky, a trail of blood following her to the ground.

After a sickening thud on the asphalt in front of him, Hisagi returned his zanpakuto to its normal form before walking forward to inspect the body of his fallen opponent. He stepped up to her fallen side and looked down, grimacing slightly at her broken and tattered body. Her left arm was obviously broken, the limb bending awkwardly in three places. Her right side was slightly distorted as well, most likely from a few broken ribs beneath her pale skin.

He looked at her face, frowning slightly at a small trail of blood sliding down her chin from the corner of her mouth. He almost felt bad for the Arrancar as he kneeled down to have a closer look; he knew that she only _looked _young and innocent, but the illusion was still very convincing. The fact that he detested killing was also helping to play on his sympathies for this small girl.

Her pink eye suddenly fluttered open, causing him to jump up and point the tip of his zanpakuto straight at her throat. Despite the threatening gesture from the Shinigami above her, Lilinette chuckled weakly and smiled up at him, her lips curving up faintly at one side.

"_Shit,"_she coughed up at him painfully. "Even when I'm dying you're still cute."

Hisagi's eyes opened in shock as Lilinette's slid closed with fatigue. He was less surprised at the statement than at the fact that he'd actually felt _flattered _this time. While he'd been complimented an infinite number of times throughout his adult life, this was the first time he'd ever felt any sort of… _anything _from one. Ever. He looked back down at her small body, watching as her chest moved up and down ever so faintly in the night sky, and sighed.

"Goddammit," he said in a defeated breath as he leaned down and picked Lilinette's battered body up in his arms and walked back to the Urahara Shop.

* * *

He did not run towards the _reiatsu_ of the invading Arrancar like the rest of the team did. He did not rush off to attack his would-be assassin in an energetic burst. He did not unsheathe his sword and he did not search the skies with his deep green eyes.

Ulquiorra Schiffer walked along the streets of Karakura town, his pale hands slipped casually into his pockets. He'd watched as Kurosaki Ichigo had bolted away from him as soon as the sound of the _garganta _had reached his ears. Despite the years that had passed since the rivalry between the two of them, Ulquiorra still found himself constantly irritated by the brash actions of the young Shinigami captain. There was never any shred of planning in the youth's mind; Ichigo's method of attack had always been to rush in whilst hoping that his position as the ever-present hero would allow him to slice and dice his way to victory.

If his Shinigami companion had thought ahead for once, he would have realized that running towards the attackers was a waste of energy. It was more than apparent that these Arrancar were here to seek out the team from Soul Society. There should be no need to look for them; if they had any sort of organization within their ranks, these new Espada would soon be searching for them.

Besides, Ulquiorra's temper was so ablaze that it took all of his self-control to refrain from destroying the first living thing he saw.

His meeting with Orihime had not gone the way he'd envisioned. Truthfully, he hadn't planned to interact with her at all, but the fates had seemed to have had another plan for him. He still couldn't convince himself that he'd had a valid reason to go to her house in the first place. The two of them hadn't spoken to each other in over twenty years and he'd intended for things to remain as such. The fact that he'd taken to hovering outside of her window like a distraught teenager was still a bit out of character for him.

But she _had_ seen him and they'd exchanged crass words and she'd slammed the door in his face. And despite the emotionless façade that he displayed throughout the event, he'd left their impromptu meeting with a sour taste swirling within his mouth. He'd thought he'd buried his feelings for her as deep as he could a long time ago; in the past two decades, he'd done almost everything in his power to forget about her and everything that they'd ever shared. His logical way of thinking had always brought his mind to this failing outcome; ever since the first time he'd touched his lips against hers, he'd reasoned that they wouldn't last longer than a day. Even after Aizen had been killed and he was free to be with her, his train of thoughts would always trail its way down to the inevitable demise of their future.

Yet it was that same logistical mind that would hold on to the past; in the darkness of the night, Ulquiorra would find himself pondering the multitude of possible futures that he could have had with the human woman. It would have been relatively feasible to sustain a trans-dimensional relationship. Then she would have died of natural causes and their relationship could have come to a more agreeable demise. And considering that she had made him feel more alive than he'd ever felt, even when he'd held the position of Aizen Sousuke's favorite soldier, he would still question himself as to why he'd ever thought that he could live without her. How could have ever let Soul Society come between them the way he had.

_"Ulquiorra?" she inquired, her large eyes shining up at him in the moonlight._

_"Yes?"_

_"I was thinking that maybe we could go to the fair tomorrow?" Her question was timid, almost tentative. "I know you hate wearing a_gigai, _but maybe you could borrow one from Urahara-san and we could get ice cream and ride on the big wheel and see the animals?"_

_Her eyes were down now, focusing on her own feet as though he was going to harshly reprimand her request. He could understand her reticence at asking; he had never been much for public activities like that. Not to mention that he absolutely loathed the thought of wearing a faux-body for an entire day. Almost as much as he hated speaking with that former-exile shop owner._

_But despite his detestation for such things, seeing Orihime smile made up for them a thousand times over._

_"I see no problem with that idea."_

_"Really?" she asked, her eyes widening in delighted surprise at his consent. "Because we could always stay in if you didn't want to…?"_

_"Woman," he said with a faint smile, his lips curving upwards ever so slightly at their corners. "If spending a day at the festival is what you desire, I have no reason to disagree."_

_Her smile widened almost as much as her eyes and she flung her arms around his neck before planting a big kiss on his mouth. He pulled away slowly, his miniscule grin spreading under the stars._

"_Let's go to bed, Ulquiorra," she said with a candid smile. "That way tomorrow will come even faster."_

Ulquiorra stopped suddenly on the sidewalk as the sound of an explosion boomed out over Karakura's skyline. His face remained frozen in disinterest as his head turned slightly to the left, his ear pointing to the noise. He could feel the surging of Lieutenant Ayasegawa's _reiatsu _as the Shinigami became engaged in what seemed to be the first battle of the night.

He could also recognize the owner of the opposing spiritual signature. Vuulpin Alpios, one of the former _numeros _from Aizen's army. While Ulquiorra had never taken on any _fracción_during his tenure as the _Cuarto_Espada,he'd almost made an exception in the case of this Arrancar; Vuulpin had an intelligent and analytical mind to rival Ulquiorra's. He also happened to be an extremely capable fighter, proving himself faster and stronger than any single _fracción_ within the ranks of _Las Noches._

Ulquiorra frowned slightly as he felt his current and former companions' _reiatsu_levels clash. Something wasn't right. While Vuulpin had been the owner of an impressive level of spiritual power,the_numero_had never displayed _anything_like what Ulquiorra was currently feeling from across the town. The _reiatsu_that the former Espada was sensing now was easily above what Yammy's had ever been. In fact, the power wave was quickly surpassing the level that the former _Octava,_Szayel-Aporro Granz, had possessed.

Ulquiorra tightened his brow as he allowed his _pesquisa _to take hold of the incoming energy signature a little better. He was trying to discern if he had made a mistake, that the Arrancar was not actually who he thought it was. But as another band of _reiatsu_raced through the air, Ulquiorra could no longer doubt in his initial suspicions. Vuulpin Alpios was currently fighting against Lieutenant Ayasegawa Yumichika. And he was winning.

_How did he gain such a level of power?_

Ulquiorra had almost no time to think as an enormous Arrancar tore itself out of the empty air with a sword slashing down at his smaller pale body. Without removing his hands from his pockets, the former _Cuarto _side-stepped the strike, his black sandals slipping over the white concrete of the sidewalk as the Arrancar's _katana _shattered the ground where he had been standing.

"Ulquiorra Schiffer," the low voice of the big Espada boomed in slow delight. "How lucky I am to have run in to you."

"Shelata Kappala," Ulquiorra said with disinterest. "I see that you've become competent enough to be sent on missions in my absence?"

"Those are big words coming from a little traitor like you," the Arrancar snapped

Ulquiorra side-stepped another blow from the man in front of him, his green eyes widening slightly at the speed and strength behind the strike. While this Arrancar in front of him had always been adept in battle, Shelata had never possessed the ability to almost match speed with Ulquiorra. The _fracción_swung again, the blade arcing so fast that Ulquiorra didn't have time to dodge. The former Espada removed a hand from his pocket and blocked the zanpakuto, the edge of the blade stopping against his pale palm. Ulquiorra's eyes widened further as he felt pain explode within his clenched fist. He quickly released the sword and leapt back as dark blood began to trickle out from a deep gash on his right hand.

_He cut me? _Ulquiorra thought with incredulity. _Impossible._

"That's a fine look on your face, traitor," Shelata Kappala said with a grin as large as hi massive face. "Allow me to make it permanent."

The big Arrancar pulled out his second blade, the smaller _wakizashi_ glimmering in the moonlight as he slid it from its scabbard. Ulquiorra pulled his own blade out for the first time in years, his fist gripping down on the handle as crimson blood soaked into the green threads in his hand.

"Walk, _Isópodo!"_

"_Bind, _Murciélago_."_

_Ulquiorra released his zanpakuto and stretched his wings under the moonlight. He hadn't released it since his duel with Aizen almost two years ago, and the power within him was beginning to put a strain on his body. Every Arrancar experienced a sort of physical discomfort when their true power was sealed within their blades. It was one way of dampening their strength after coming in contact with the _hogyouku.

_His wings stretched out once more before folding inwards to run vertically parallel with his body. Ulquiorra stared out at Karakura from the roof of Orihime's apartment building, relishing in the freedom he felt while in his released form. He wondered idly if he could risk releasing his segunda etapa, but decided against it; he didn't want to risk waking Orihime in the rooms below with the surge of spiritual energy. While releasing only his primary_resurrección _didn't fully alleviate the pressure within his body, he knew that the_reiatsu _increase from his second form would probably set off an alarm of some sort within Soul Society._

_The last thing he wanted was a crack team of Shinigami appearing when he was trying to relax._

_"Ulquiorra? What are you doing up here?"_

_He turned to see Orihime's bright eyes staring sleepily at him from across the rooftop. She glanced at him questioningly, but he instead turned back to the town that was stretched out beneath his feet._

_"What are you doing up here?" she asked, her brows furrowed in slight concern. "Is everything alright? Why are you…?"_

_"Everything is fine, woman," Ulquiorra said, maintaining his focus on the skyline below. "I just needed some air."_

_It was a pathetic excuse and he knew it. But he held no desire to tell Orihime that the reason he left her alone in the bed was because the discomfort of being contained in his human-like body had grown too much for him to handle. He didn't want to showcase this weakness to her; her uncanny ability to coerce his softer side out into the light already caused him to feel more fragile than he'd ever desired to._

_"Oh," she said softly, her voice sounding slightly dejected at his quick response as her brown eyes looked down._

_"Do I frighten you, woman?"_

_She smiled warmly and walked up to him before wrapping her arms around his waist from behind, his body-length robe shifting against her chest. He turned himself around in her embrace, his green eyes gazing emotionlessly down into hers despite the warm smile that radiated up at him._

_"Of course not," she said through her grin. "You never have."_

_He smiled._

"_Is that so?"_

Ulquiorra dodged as blade after blade slashed at him from countless arms. His own zanpakuto could only block so many of the quick and simultaneous strikes, leaving his nimble and agile body to evade the rest. Shelata Kappala's _resurrección _had endowed the Arrancar with nearly two dozen extra arms along his torso, each one wielding a blade of its own.

Three of the right arms slashed sideways at Ulquiorra, causing him to block downwards while flipping up and above his opponent. As he reached the zenith of his somersault, he jutted his index finger down at the Arrancar beneath him, a green _cero_swirling before his fingertip. Shelata looked up in time to grimace as the massive blast roared forward and slammed through him and into the concrete below.

The Arrancar recovered from the blast and charged at Ulquiorra, his numerous swords slashing furiously through the air. The green-eyed Hollow dodged the blows deftly, his left hand finding itself back into his pocket. Ulquiorra could see the man's attacks now; he had no idea how his opponent had gained this immeasurable power boost, but it didn't matter. The _fracción_was still no match for him.

Ulquiorra lunged forward, his zanpakuto thrusting forward through a storm of lethal blades.

"_What?" she asked, the familiar tears lining her bottom eyelids as she looked at him in disbelief. "Why are you…?"_

"_It is the only logical decision, woman," Ulquiorra responded coldly, his hands hidden securely within their pockets, his face steeled against her brewing sorrow. "I've come to realize that it would be irrational to prolong the inevitable death of our relationship any further."_

_His expression remained stagnant as she wept, despite the pain this entire even was causing him. He didn't want to leave her any more than he'd wanted to say the words that had just shot out of his mouth. He'd always wanted to make her happy, no matter what the cost. Except now he found that she was growing lonelier and lonelier as the months flew by. He couldn't commit enough time to her with his priorities controlled by Soul Society._

_She was unhappy even though she would never admit it._

_There would be nights where he would wake up to the sound of her sobbing quietly at his side. He had given up on asking her what her troubles were. He could only hear the words "nothing, it's fine" so many times before giving up and coming to the obvious conclusion on his own. They had only seen one another four times in the past three years, after all. And with the dimensional precipice between them, any form of interim communication was practically impossible._

_Inoue Orihime was slowly wasting her years waiting for him to return, her brown eyes growing sadder and sadder as the sun would set every night without an appearance from her lover._

_So as much as it hurt the both of them, he knew he had to sever the love that connected them._

"_But, but…" she stammered, the tears falling from her big eyes as she fought to change his mind. "I don't understand. We can still make it work between…"_

"_No," he spoke sternly as she lost her voice in a sob. "You are only a human; your life is short and fragile. You shouldn't be slaughtering your youth while you hope that I may come and visit you."_

"_I don't care, really," she said through another hiccup, her sweet face trying its best to wear a confident smile. "I don't mind wai—"_

"_Stop." Her eyes widened as he snapped at her, her bottom lip and chin quivering slightly. "You will not change my mind, woman. This is what is best for us."_

_Ulquiorra turned to leave but found that his feet wouldn't step away from Orihime. An eternal moment of abysmal silence swallowed the small apartment; her sobs had stopped from behind him and his body was frozen to the floor. A small tear rolled down his cheek slowly, the sorrowful droplet running alongside the cyan line that permanently marred his face._

"_Get out."_

_Her voice was cruel from over his shoulder, the harsh timbre piercing through him like a lance. He wanted to apologize to her, but he still found himself ruefully silent. He stayed put, his head only turning slightly so that he could focus on her from the corner of his juniper-colored eyes._

"_Orihi—"_

"_Get out of my house!"_

As the myriad of arms vanished away into his defeated opponent's scabbard, Ulquiorra stabbed his own zanpakuto downwards and into the belly of his opponent. He glared down into the anguished face and smirked. After twenty years, the pain of losing Orihime was beginning to finally catch up to him, and he was going to slash his anger into the body of the man before him.

He removed the blade and jabbed it into flesh again, this time thrusting the point into the sternum of his enemy. The Arrancar beneath him gurgled in pain as blood began to pool in his mouth. Ulquiorra gritted his teeth together and growled as he looked down furiously in his enemy's eyes.

_Do you love me, Ulquiorra?_

_Of course I do, Woman._

Ulquiorra reached down in blind rage and grabbed the dying man's throat and squeezed hard; crimson blood spilled out of Shelata's mouth and onto the pale skin of Ulquiorra's hand as the wounded Arrancar's trachea splintered under the fierce grip.

_Will we always be together?_

_Of course we will._

Shelata's eyes rolled backwards into his skull as the white sclerae of his eyeballs slowly became overrun by a spider-web of scarlet, Ulquiorra's deadly fingertips completely obliterating the flesh of his neck under the pressure of his grip.

_I'm sorry, Orihime._

_I hate you!_

Ulquiorra stood slowly and pulled his zanpakuto out of the flesh of his fellow Arrancar with a wet and sickening sound. With a flick of his wrist, he splattered a line of blood on a nearby wall as his blade was relieved of the sanguine liquid. He took one last look at his dismantled opponent before turning around and sheathing his blade.

The buzz of a _sonído _caused Ulquiorra to spin around quickly as a familiar and ominous _reiatsu_swelled up from behind him.

Ulquiorra's eyes steeled themselves as he looked upon Stark, the _Privaron's _eyes focused on the mutilated corpse at his feet. His pale eyes looked up at Ulquiorra lazily then, the two former _Vasto Lorde_glaring at one another in a seemingly emotionless impasse. Stark's hand remained ready as it hovered over the yellow handle of his zanpakuto, his brown eyes watching Ulquiorra's fist for any sign of movement.

The two of them stood frozen for only a moment before Ulquiorra's arm snapped to the left, his hand closing tightly upon the grip of his blade within a nanosecond. He quickly pulled the blade out from its sheathe as he lunged forward, preparing to eviscerate the Arrancar in front of him.

Ulquiorra felt a hand grab onto his wrist from behind, his eyes widening in shock as Stark suddenly vanished from his sights. He turned his head to look behind himself, the drowsy face of Stark mere inches away from his own. Ulquiorra clenched his teeth together as he tried to wrench his wrist out of the vice-grip it was currently imprisoned in.

"Calm down, Ulquiorra," Stark's relaxed voice leaked out slowly from over his shoulder, "I just want to talk."

* * *

_**author's note**_

_sorry about that guys. the ulquiorra half of this chapter was a bitch and a half. big shout out to__**jazzpha**__for making me laugh my way through it. for those of you that enjoy a good GrimmSoi fic, check out his story "Torn". it's pretty damn solid. actually, all of his stuff is pretty good. give him a holler._

_also huge shout-outs to the aforementioned__**jazzpha**__as well as__**matsumama**__and__**f1ymordecai.**__these three read through "So" during my bit of writer's laze and really rocked my world with some solid reviews. as i said above, they all have some good writes; make sure to check em out and drop them a review or ten? (shouts to all my regular reviewers as well; ya'll know who you is.)_

_also,__**delmarch**__rocked out a pretty bitchin' ass piece of fan art for "So" last week. check out my favs at deviantart to see my ever growing collection of fan art!_

_hisagi's two bankai names mean "white cloud wind of death" and "black tornado wind of death" respectively. if anyone was wondering. and hollar to__**f1ymordecai**__for suggesting the khopesh. and since i didn't mention it earlier, yumichika's bankai, jikininki kujaku, means "trash-eating ghost peacock". lawl._

_anyways, i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! it marks about the halfway point of the story; imagine this as the top of that first drop of a rollercoaster._

_la migra!_

_jta!~_

_**love is a fist - mr. bungle**_


	15. Into the Hollow

_**Into the Hollow**_

Captain Kira Izuru walked steadily through the first division, his feet gliding softly over the wooden floors of the raised catwalks. The sun was beginning to climb higher above the horizon to the east, its orange rays beginning to dissolve into the blues and yellows of midmorning. He stopped for a moment and turned to the sunrise and breathed in deeply as he looked out over the sunlit rooftops of Seireitei. The terracotta tiles atop the buildings reflected the light upwards, causing him to squint his light-green eyes harshly despite the warmth that poured onto his face.

Despite the urgent tones of the Captain-commander's message, Kira was taking his time getting to the first division; he'd stayed awake late into the evening to work on the third's defense procedures. In the event that they fell under attack by the new Espada, Unohana had requested that every captain have their divisions be prepared for a possible siege. He'd sent Nemu ahead of him as he languorously readied himself for the meeting, skipping a shower so that he'd have time for a quick breakfast. His lieutenant never ate anything before lunch as it was, so he'd felt no guilt in asking her to hold his place for him as he took his time eating. Since Unohana had forced him into staying awake late, he figured he could at least make her wait an extra fifteen minutes for him to arrive.

He turned away from the sunrise and continued along the raised pathway, pushing himself deeper into the first division. He began to wonder idly about the message from Unohana; she had sounded a little rushed, but not so much that he felt compelled to sprint to the meeting hall. At first he had wondered if perhaps one of the teams had been defeated completely and that their operations were in jeopardy. But he'd quickly dismissed this thought after realizing that a full-on emergency meeting would have been called in the event of a mission failure.

Still, the uncharacteristic hurriedness of her voice had been more than a bit disconcerting. He quickened his pace ever so slightly as he gritted his teeth in irritation at himself. Kira was starting to get a sinking feeling in his gut; he shouldn't have taken his time eating breakfast.

He rounded the final corner and arrived at the grand doors of the captain's meeting room and his heart leapt into his throat.

Captain Kurotsuchi Mayuri was standing inches away from Nemu, his unnatural grin ebbing and growing as his black lips undulated over his white teeth. Kira's forehead immediately tightened into a knot and grew warm in anger. His turquoise eyes were once more narrowed by his eyelids as he looked across the hallway at his fiancée and her life-long tormentor. Despite Kurotsuchi being her father, Kira still despised it whenever he saw Nemu anywhere near him. Though the twelfth division's captain would swear up and down that he had never mistreated her, coupled with Nemu's absurd reinforcement of these claims, Kira knew better than to believe him. Both she and Mayuri promised that anything he had done to her was nothing more than parental discipline.

But neither of them had ever witnessed the times when Nemu would writhe in her sleep, her small voice pleading for mercy as she gripped fearfully onto the bed sheets beneath her. Or when she would rise from their shared futon and amble over to the door and claw at it while Kira would struggle to gently bring the terror-ridden somnambulist back to bed and pacify her. He had no idea what the father and daughter were hiding about her past, but he was convinced that that these night-terrors were caused by something far more heinous than some simple _parental discipline._

Kira suddenly felt his palm tighten upon the alpine-colored handle of his zanpakuto. Without even realizing it, he had reached across his waist and grabbed for his blade. He hated Kurotsuchi Mayuri with all of his heart and soul, but he was still surprised to see that his subconscious was prepared to slice the mad scientist open. For a moment though, his surprise abated enough to allow his mind to entertain the thought of killing this man once and for all.

_Be careful, Izuru._

Kira inhaled sharply with surprise, but he didn't need to turn to see that _Wabisuke_had appeared behind him. His zanpakuto had a habit of materializing to him whenever he was troubled. She seemed to enjoy taunting him in his moments of weakness, appearing in places so that only he could see as she mocked him. She stepped around from behind him, the sound of a chain rattling as she moved gracefully to face him. Her black hair covered the majority of her pale face, leaving only one green eye and a white cheek to shine out from behind the infinite darkness of her tresses. Every once in a while, when she was especially ribbing on him, he could see her pink lips as they curved up into a sneering grin. She wore a pants suit that was almost as black as her hair, her natural curves accented by the tight cut of the jacket. A steel-colored tie provided the only bit of color on her body as its wide, grey knot shined brightly against the black dress shirt underneath. A thick chain fell from her left sleeve in place of an arm, a weighted ball dangling from its end in a ghastly perversion of a hand.

"Be careful of what, exactly?" Kira asked as time began to slow around them, his eyes still glaring menacingly at the demented father of the woman he loved. _Wabisuke _leaned her head to the left slightly and smirked, allowing Kira to see a touch of a skin that had previously been unexplored by his vision.

_As much as I would love to feel his blood on my edge,_she said with a chilling mixture of glee and hate, _I would hate to watch you become Seireitei's biggest hypocrite._

He looked away from her. "Hypocrite?"

_You're always preaching about 'the avoidance of violence' and such. If you cut him up here, you wouldn't exactly be practicing what you advocate._

He closed his eyes at her words and breathed in slowly, inviting the calm that began to make its way back into his mind. He opened his eyelids and turned back to Mayuri's suspended grin. His hand finally loosened its grip from around _Wabisuke's _green handle. The spirit looked down and smiled, looking slightly disappointed that he had listened to her.

"I guess you're right," Kira said as he tucked his hand back into the folds of his robes. "Soul Society doesn't have enough room for another captain that turns his back on what he teaches. I'm not nearly blind enough for that job."

The Zanpakuto spirit chuckled. _Was that a Tousen joke?_

"It was," he replied with a small grin.

_Wabisuke _laughed girlishly at Kira before fading away into a nebulous mist as motion gradually returned to the group around him. Captain Madarame nodded politely to him as he passed before turning his tattooed eyes back to the large doors in impatience. Kira continued to walk before stopping, only ten or so feet remaining between him and the pair that had caused his blood to boil a minute ago. He squared up his shoulders and inflated his chest slightly.

"Lieutenant Kurotsuchi," he said with an uncharacteristic sternness, his voice almost growling out the duo's shared last name.

Nemu snapped her head up and away from her father's words, her deep green eyes looking at Kira in a combination of worry and confusion. His harsh gaze softened slightly at her and she seemed to realize that the gritty tone in his voice was directed at her father and not her. Mayuri slowly turned to face his fellow captain with a black and white look of annoyance, his golden eyes narrowing slightly as his daughter swiftly left his side to be by her captain's.

As soon as she had reached him, Kira turned his back on Mayuri so that neither he nor Nemu were facing the other captain. He began to walk forward with his lieutenant when he cast one last look over his shoulder and locked stares with Captain Kurotsuchi's still narrowed eyes. Their glaring contest lasted for a few seconds longer before Mayuri's gaze shifted slightly and focused on his daughter's retreating form. His vibrant eyes softened the moment they focused on Nemu and a slight frown cursed his usual grin as he watched her walk away.

Kira almost felt the slightest glimmer of pity for the madman that stood behind them with his shoulders slumped in defeat. But that feeling soon evaporated when he turned his head away from Mayuri and looked into the eyes of the woman he loved.

"As you can see, captain," she said in her always steady voice, "you did not need me to hold your place in the meeting; it hasn't started yet."

"But I still appreciate it," Kira said with a tired smile, "Nemu." He still had trouble decoding her monotonous voice and deciphering how she actually felt.

"Then I shall be heading back to the division," she said calmly before leaning in and kissing him softly on the lips. He smiled and watched her leave – he may never understand what her tones of voice implied, but she still had ways of letting him know exactly how she felt. He turned to walk back over to Madarame; he was curious to find out what the Captain-commander's sense of urgency was all about, and why she still hadn't begun the meeting. Hopefully the eleventh division's captain might know a little more than he himself did.

He had only taken a few steps towards Ikkaku when the large pair of doors groaned and swung open slowly. Kira turned to face the captain's hall when a gasp of surprise tore from his lips. The rest of the captains in attendance soon repeated his response as the colossal doors finally opened fully to reveal Hirako Shinji grinning slightly at the side of Unohana Retsu. The Captain-commander, however, looked anything but amused.

"My captains," she said in a serious voice, her blue eyes drooping slightly as she addressed them. "We may have a problem."

* * *

Soi Fon liked to think that she was bigger than her emotions, but the fact of the matter was that despite all her years of military training, she was still a woman in love. And as a woman in love, she still found herself falling victim to some of Grimmjow's more devilish flights of fancy. Him saving her life earlier had all but caused her to swoon at the violent heroics that only _he _could make sexy. She could always find ways to fall in love with him all over again. Unfortunately, being a woman in love held its set of hurdles as well.

Like the outrageously thick amount of resentment she currently held towards Kuna Mashiro. Soi Fon couldn't help but watch the perky girl with silent hatred as the Vizard placed her hands against Grimmjow's chest while she healed his wounds. Soi _knew _that she was being ridiculous in her possessiveness over him, but she couldn't help it. She'd never really seen another woman touch Grimmjow before; all the women in Seireitei were still a little afraid of him. Which was perfectly fine with her. But this was a new touch to her feelings for him. Jealousy was never something she'd really experienced. After all, he was _hers, _dammit.

Grimmjow Jaggerjaques stood from the sandy desert floor of _Hueco Mundo, _and placed his white vest back over his arms as Mashiro moved on to heal her fellow Vizard. He walked over to Soi Fon with a grin, his white teeth glinting in the moonlight of the nocturnal desert. Once Grimmjow had rejoined their group, they had quickly found an exit from the underground forest that they had been trapped in for the past eight hours. His smile faded slightly as he came up to her side.

"I know that look," he said with a crossed expression. "What's eatin' you?"

"Nothing," she almost snapped.

He snorted sardonically and looked at her with knowing eyes, his sky-blue irises piercing her through while wordlessly telling her that "she needed to get over whatever she was pissed off about." She narrowed her own eyes before smiling back slightly. She turned her face away, irritated on how she couldn't really stay mad at him. A few moments of silence passed over them, the only sounds coming from Kensei fussing with Mashiro off to their left.

"Thank you," she said quietly and suddenly as she looked out over the desert at the cyclopean palace that was still very much on the horizon.

"For what?" he asked with a feigned look of confusion, his small grin admitting that he knew what she was talking about.

"Don't '_for what_' me," she quipped. "A 'thank you' is the best you'll ever get, you punk-ass." She was not about to bend to his will and verbally admit that he saved her life. He would get _way _too much pleasure out of that.

To her surprise, he leaned down and kissed her slowly. Any thoughts of hatred and envy towards that other girl completely melted away as she brought her hand up to his cheek, her slender fingers rubbing over the fine stubble on his cheeks. She inhaled deeply through her nose and relished in the smell that swirled around him as their kiss lengthened under the night sky.

He pulled away and chuckled before turning his gaze outwards to _Las Noches_. "Anytime, captainess."

Renji was standing off to the outskirts of the group with his arms dejectedly crossed over his chest. Rukia had almost died and he had been virtually powerless to save her. He'd tried his hardest to fight for her, but the two _Vasto Lorde_were way too powerful for him to even _touch. _He knew that he was sulking, but he didn't care; it was all he could do to keep himself from exploding. Soi Fon and that fucking Vizard had both held their own against the pair of Hollow, but all he could do was lay face down in the dirt as his best friend lay bleeding to death and this mission he'd asked to lead quickly began to spiral downward towards failure.

He was starting to wonder if maybe he really _wasn't_cut out to be a captain. He'd always strived to be greater than Kuchiki Byakuya and he had figured that gaining his _bankai_and becoming a captain would have solidified his success. Or at least allow him to equal his former captain's ability. Although when he thought about it, he hadn't gained his _bankai_to outdo Byakuya. He'd truly only gained his _bankai _to save Rukia. But he'd failed her on that day so many years ago.

And he'd failed her tonight.

He had spent the majority of his life trying to get to the top of Soul Society and impress Rukia. But when it came down to it, the view from the summit of Seireitei wasn't all that spectacular. Most of his captaincy had been spent doing paperwork and watching recruits beat each other up to try and impress him. He sometimes found himself daydreaming about the days he and Ikkaku and Tetsuzaemon would waste an afternoon drinking and sparring and arguing on the importance of _kidou._ Now he couldn't even find the time to do _anything_, much less practice his skills in swordsmanship. He absolutely resented his new life and he could tell that _Zabimaru _hated it even more; the spirit hadn't talked to him in over seven years.

Renji sighed deeply. His zanpakuto refused to speak to him and he hated his place within the Gotei 13. And all for what? So that he could impress the girl that he unrequitedly loved. How the fuck was he supposed to impress her if he couldn't even protect her? If all he did was sit around and get out of shape and let her die?

"Renji?"

His breath almost caught in his throat. The voice that he'd always loved hearing suddenly sounded so sour in his ears. He turned his head slightly, his brown eyes looking over his shoulder at Rukia's small frame standing alone in the moonlight of the desert. He tried to turn around fully and make some sort of small joke to lighten the mood like he always did, but he couldn't seem to find the words. Instead he just let his eyes linger on her face silently before turning his head back to the endless sand dunes.

His eyes widened in shock when Rukia's slender arms wrapped themselves around his waist and she rested her small cheek on his back in between his shoulder blades. He stood deathly still for a moment longer before he timidly unfolded his arms and timidly slid his hands down over hers.

"Thank you for trying to save me, Renji," she said quietly into his back. "I really appreciate it."

Renji's mouth went dry at her words. He wanted to say something nonchalant, to shrug it off as if it had been nothing. But the truth was that he'd tried his hardest and failed and he needed to tell her that she should be cursing him and not thanking him.

Yet he couldn't muster up the courage to speak and destroy her illusion of him as a hero. Out of all the people that had tried to save her life in the past, he was the only one to repeatedly fall short. Ichigo, Byakuya, Kaien. All three of them had sacrificed their own safety to ensure hers. Yet no matter how many times Renji had rushed to her rescue, he would always wind up needing to be saved himself.

But in the end, he was shamefully happy that she wanted to finally recognize his effort. As much as it pained him to admit, he wanted to bask in some of her affection, even if it was unwarranted.

So Renji simply squeezed her hands within his, if for any reason just to let her know that he had heard her. She sighed gently at the gesture and pushed her body closer into his. He felt his heart begin to race in his chest as he battled the dueling emotions of shame and reward that warred in his heart. Her grip on his midsection tightened as she leaned a little more heavily upon and his blood began to pump harder in his ears. He could feel her chest against his back, the feel of her breathing as her body pressed against him. He wanted to turn around and take her in his arms proper and kiss her until they both couldn't breathe anymore.

"Rukia-tan," Mashiro's perky voice rang out from behind them. "I need to check your wounds again."

Without a word, Rukia slipped out from Renji's grip and walked back to the rest of the group. He turned around slowly and watched her walk away, her small body silhouetted against the pale white backdrop of Hueco Mundo's endless desert. He looked down at the rectangular pommel of _Zabimaru_as his hand gripped onto the red handle.

_Next time I _will _protect you, Rukia, _he thought to himself solemnly.

_I promise.

* * *

_

Hisagi sat silently in one of the back rooms of the Urahara Shop, his eyes trained on the small Arrancar girl sleeping in front of him. Ishida Orihime had just left after healing his fallen opponent and he had volunteered to watch over her. Her wrists and ankles were each attached to _reiatsu-_blocking shackles, but the rest of the team didn't still want her going unwatched. Despite the strange looks that he'd received, Hisagi had been stern in his wanting to watch over the girl.

And he still had no idea why.

Once more his eyes slid over Lilinette's unconscious body and up to her still and sleeping face. Hisagi found that he was still astonished at the incredible healing ability that the human woman held; even after seeing it in action numerous times, Orihime's _Santen Kisshun _continued to amaze him. When he had dragged the small Espada into the Urahara Shop, she had been barely breathing. Hisagi had been almost certain that she would have died, even if she'd been under the expert care of Captain Kotetsu. Yet Urahara Kisuke had simply snickered before walking away and picking up the phone to call the wife of the last Quincy.

Now Hisagi found himself looking at the unscathed body of the _Septíma _Espada, her wounds and broken bones miraculously mended as if she hadn't even gotten out of bed that morning, much less been on the verge of death after fighting against his _bankai._The trails of blood that had coursed over her body were gone, leaving only smooth and fair skin for his eyes to look upon.

_Even when I'm dying, you're still cute._

Why couldn't he get her words out of his head? He had been flirted with and complimented by women for decades, but it hadn't been since he and Soi Fon had been together that another woman's comments had hit him this deeply. He hadn't even heard the dozens of praises that Nanao had heaped upon him during their short fling. Normally he could take a flirtatious comment like that and let it roll off of his back and forget it ever happened. Hell, the last Arrancar he'd fought had said practically the same things that this one did, but he'd cut that one in half. But for some reason, Lilinette's words had sunk in and he'd saved her life instead of taking it.

It wasn't like the female Espada was especially attractive, either. Even though he knew she was probably several hundreds of years old, with her thin torso and petite features she looked like a fourteen year-old girl. Maybe fifteen, tops. And yet her pink irises and arrogant smile continued to seep from the back of his mind and into the forefront of his thoughts. Even the peaceful look of her face as she slept – her thin eyelash fluttering lightly, her pink lips parted slightly while she breathed – was keeping him completely captivated.

He broke his eyes away from her face in a struggled attempt to stop himself from _pseudo-ogling_ her. Hisagi looked down at the small hole in her body, his eyes fixing upon the black fistula that served as the palpable reminder that despite her human-like traits, this girl was still a Hollow. But then there was also her well-toned stomach that began immediately below her Hollow-hole. And the small bosoms that rested above it, her breasts barely covered by the thin white vest that she wore tight over her chest.

Hisagi sighed and stood, snapping his eyes away from her completely to look at the clock that was hanging near the door. He knew it was after sunrise, but he had no clue as to what time it actually was. Unfortunately, Urahara Kisuke's indefatigable playfulness had decided that if this were to be an interrogation room, the prisoner had no need to witness the passage of time; he had tied all three hands of the clock together with a rubber band. Hisagi had a sneaking suspicion that it was not twelve o'clock on the dot, anyway.

Lilinette shifted behind him and let out a soft sigh, causing him to turn around just in time to see her exposed eye flutter open slowly. He instinctively held his breath for a moment as he watched her eyes focus after the long bout of darkness she'd just staggered out of. As she became fully awake, their eyes met for a brief moment. She smiled lightly upon seeing him and he felt a strange flutter in his stomach as he tried to refrain from smiling back.

Then her eyes began to dart around furiously as she began to realize where she was.

"What the fuck?" she yelled as she tugged at the _Sekkiseki _shackles that connected her limbs to the floor below. "What the _fuck?"_

With an inaudible chuckle, Hisagi spun around and left the room, leaving the imprisoned Arrancar to scream in solitude. He had a feeling that nobody was going to be able to shut her up for a few hours anyway. He slid the door shut, slightly dampening Lilinette's string of curses before walking back to the main room of the Urahara Shop.

He turned a corner to find Ayasegawa Yumichika leaning casually against a wall, a slight smirk upon his face.

"I thought you were going to be watching over her all night," he said with an obvious snicker, "Captain Hisagi."

"Those shackles will hold her for now," Hisagi said, purposefully not rising to the lieutenant's taunt. "She won't need a chaperone around the clock."

Hisagi walked past him without a word, watching from the corner of his eye as the eleventh division's lieutenant looked down the hall towards the screams in the room beyond before shaking his head and stepping off of the wall to fall in line behind him.

"Any luck in finding Ulquiorra?" Hisagi inquired, hoping that at least some trace of their companion had been discovered.

"We didn't find _him_," Yumichika replied with a sigh, running his left hand up through his jet-black hair. "But we found his opponent. Or what was left of the guy, at least."

"So he wasn't killed?" Hisagi asked as the two of them rounded another corner within the labyrinth of corridors hidden in the back of the Shop.

"Didn't look like it," Yumichika said. "And when Captain Kurosaki found the place where he'd been fighting, he said that a strong _reiatsu _was still lingering around the place."

"So then Ulquiorra might have—"

"That what we're thinking," Yumichika said cutting him off, "but we don't want to jump to any conclusions yet."

"And the Ishida girl?"

"Ichigo is with her at her house. He said he had a promise to keep."

Hisagi's mind was spinning as they walked into the main room of the Urahara shop. His eyes widened slightly as he saw the young Vizard girl, Hiyori, standing in front of Urahara, her arms folded over her chest as she glared up at the shop owner. While his tone of voice was normal, Kisuke's usual grin was nowhere to be found, his smile instead replaced with a scowl to match hers.

"What do you mean he went back to Soul Society?" Urahara asked, his brimming anger barely concealed under his faked cheerfulness. "Why wouldn't he tell any of us first?"

"I dunno, you ass," she quipped back, her eyes rolling at the questions. "It's _Shinji, _for God's sake; why does he do _anything? _He probably wanted to tell Unohana about Ulquiorra."

"But we just discovered that he was missing a few hours ago," Urahara said darkly. "When did Shinji leave? How would he have known before us?"

"Again, it's Shinji we're talking about," she said, glaring at him even harder after the implied accusations. "He always thinks he knows everything."

"So this time he just _guessed_ that Ulquiorra defected from Soul Society," Urahara said. "And then two hours later, it conveniently turns out that he might be right?"

Hiyori stared up into the eyes of her former captain, her brown irises thinning as her eyelids narrowed. Hisagi could practically taste the tension that these two were throwing into the air; Urahara didn't believe a word Hiyori was saying.

And Hisagi wasn't sure if he did, either.

"Yeah," the Vizard said with a crooked smirk. "I guess it does."

* * *

Halibel stood in front of the Espada-filled room, her turquoise eyes scanning over each one of their faces. The second that she'd heard Stark was back in Hueco Mundo_, _she had called an immediate meeting. She wanted to scold him in front of their army and hope that _maybe _it would somehow make a mark on his indifference. Unfortunately, a handful of the Espada were busy preparing for the next stage of the plan, so she had to settle with an audience of four.

"Halibel," Charlotte Cuuhlhourne said as he entered the room, becoming the fifth member of the meeting. "We've just received word that Lilinette's team has failed their mission in the real world."

Despite the bad news, Halibel barely even flinched as Charlotte sat down at the long table next to Tesla, his effeminate outfit revealing the small black _**8 **_that was tattooed over his belly button. The thought that Lilinette would fail her mission had always been a reality that she and Stark had considered. Along with Grimmjow's team escaping from the _Menos Forest, _their plans would only need to take a slight tweaking. And now, with Drystan as their new _Segunda _Espada, they were only two ranks short of having a full army.

"Were there any casualties on the Shinigami side?" Halibel asked casually, not really expecting but still hoping.

"The details are still a bit skewed for both sides," he replied. "We have yet to confirm Lilinette's death; we think she may have been taken prisoner."

"And as for the Shinigami?" she repeated, her voice taking on a slight tone of annoyance.

"No confirmed casualties," he said briskly. "Although…"

"Although what?" She cocked a blonde eyebrow.

"We were able to verify that Ulquiorra Schiffer killed Shelata Kappala, but he disappeared shortly after that."

"Excuse me?" Apache squawked from Halibel's side, moving to stand before Halibel held out a dismissive hand. The spitfire _Novena_remained seated, but continued to glare across the table at Cuuhlhourne. "What do you mean he 'disappeared'?"

"He didn't _disappear_," came a baritone voice from the head of the room. The entire room spun around and stared in shock to see Stark leaning lazily against the white doorframe, Ulquiorra Schiffer standing solemnly at his side.

"He came with me."

* * *

_**author's note**_

_I'M SORRY. the end of last semester was kickin' my ass really hard so i didn't have any free time to write a new chapter and i apologize for the__**MASSIVE DELAY**__in updating this story. it won't happen again, i promise._

_anyways, pretty happy with how this turned out.__**review**__and let me know what you guys think!_

_also,__**jazzpha**__and i have begun a collaboration on one of his stories, "__**Guns of Karakura**__". early reviews of the plot have hailed it as "better than sex". i woulnd't go that far, but it's gonna be a pretty bitchin' story. go check it out! in fact, go check out ALL of his stuff. he's pretty bitchin' as a well._

_also i got a wonderful piece of fanart from__**kiephra!**__it partially made me write the part about lilinette and hisagi in this chapter, so go and check it out! (jasotheartisan . deviantart . com) i have actually gotten a load of great fanarts lately, so go check them all out and make sure you let the peoples know they did a great and wonderful job while you're at it._

_until next time,_

_**jta~**_

_**into the hollow - queens of the stone age**_


	16. Mescal Rite

_**Mescal Rite**_

Halibel was mad. It was practically impossible to tell just by looking at her; her eyes were only slightly wider than normal, her impossibly turquoise irises only somewhat more visible from behind her disheveled blonde bangs. Her shoulders were squared a bit more than normal as she folded her gloved arms across her flat stomach. To anyone else in the room, she would have looked unaffected by Ulquiorra's sudden appearance into the halls of _Las Noches._

But Stark wasn't _anyone else. _Only three beings in this entire universe had spent more time around Halibel than he had. And two of them were dead now; the third, Apache, was currently inching away from her former master, her eyes darting back and forth between the two stoic figures at the door and the blonde powder-keg at her side. Stark chuckled inwardly at the scene – he had known that he was going to be coming back to an angry set of eyes from her, but…

Having Ulquiorra Schiffer waltz in with him might just be enough to get her blood boiling.

"Stark." Her voice was steady and sharp, slightly wavering from its normal deadpan. "What is he doing here?"

"He's on our side again, Halibel," Stark said calmly as Ulquiorra stood silently next to him, his pale hands clasped together respectfully behind his waist.

"But he betrayed Lord Aizen," Tesla spoke up from his seat, his calm voice hinting at only a touch of indignation as his single eye stared piercingly at the duo in the doorframe. "How can we trust him now? Who is to say that he isn't simply using us to aid Soul Society?"

"Because I don't think he is," Stark said with a sigh, obviously ready to end the debate. He already knew that Ulquiorra had absolutely no desire to serve the Gotei any longer; a few minutes of conversation in an alleyway doesn't simply sway a loyal soldier away from his army. He could tell from the look in his fellow Arrancar's eyes that there was bad blood between him and Soul Society. And the second Stark had told Ulquiorra the plans that he and Halibel had cooked up, he knew that he'd gained a lifelong supporter. He knew that Ulquiorra had a vendetta against someone, a score that needed to be settled.

And the only way that would happen would be for the green-eyed Arrancar to fight for him.

"And when you end up being wrong?" Apache snapped, bringing Stark out of his thoughts. "What happens then?"

"I doubt I'll be wrong," Stark said as he walked into the room, finally pulling his shoulder away from the doorframe.

"And when you are?" Apache again, her voice rising in frustration.

"Are you implying…" Ulquiorra began monotonously as he, too, stepped forward and towards Apache, his deep green eyes boring into her while he slipped his hands back into their pockets and he drew closer to her. He stopped only a foot from the female Espada, his eyes unblinking as she pushed herself deeper into her seat in a subtle attempt to create some distance between them. "…That an army such as yours – an army that has been augmented exponetially by the powers of the _hogyouku – _would be unable to stop a single traitorous Arrancar?"

His gaze lingered on the Apache's nervous eyes for a moment longer before he turned his own upon Halibel. The _Terceira_ Espada was still standing rigidly next to Apache's seat, her teal eyes drilling into Ulquiorra. Stark watched from the other side of the long white table as the two glared at one another in silence for a moment, causing the other Arrancar in the room to shift uncomfortably. Stark knew that Halibel would eventually come around to his way of thinking. He'd already noticed that Drystan had been Arrancarized and tattooed; why on earth wouldn't she want to flesh out their army with another _Vasto Lorde?_

"I trust you know Lilinette's team failed their mission?" Halibel asked Stark, her eyes not leaving Ulquiorra's.

"I do," he responded with a yawn.

"And your thoughts on that?"

Stark squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his forehead with the heel of his gloved hand. What was she getting at? Was she probing him for something with that question? Why did everyone have to make such a big deal out of this?

"She's still alive," he said after a moment.

"Is she?" Halibel asked, her eyes still trained on Ulquiorra as the duo continued their unwavering staring contest. "Was she taken captive?"

"I would assume so," Stark replied. "But she and I had prepared for that situation; she has a new mission now."

Halibel finally broke her eye contact with Ulquiorra as her head snapped over to Stark, her blonde eyebrows furrowing at this news. Stark waited out the glare, once more knowing that her logical mind would come to the conclusion that he'd made the right call. Just because he forgot to tell her about such a small detail didn't mean that she had to get mad about it. _She _might have thought he was making her look bad, but it wasn't ever his intention to demean her. He would just forget to mention his plans every now and again. It wasn't a big deal.

With a sigh, Halibel turned her attention back to Ulquiorra. She glared at him for a moment longer before turning away. She cut her eyes back to Stark, her glare a bit softer now. _Finally, _he thought to himself, glad that she was finally seeing the good in this situation.

"Are you sure about this, Stark?"

"I wouldn't have brought back him here if I wasn't," he replied, coolly.

"Fine," she quipped, eliciting a string of murmurs from around the table of Espada. "But if something happens," she said, pausing to shoot a deadly glare at Ulquiorra, who made no indication of being intimidated, "it'll be your mess to clean up."

"And what if _we _don't like the sound of that idea?" came a booming voice from the doorway.

Once more the room turned in shock, their eyes now widening even further than when they had seen Ulquiorra a few minutes beforehand. Apache practically choked on her own breath. Drystan and Ulquiorra remained relatively emotionless at the appearance of the intruders, despite the fact that the two of them very much understood the gravity of the situation. Tesla's eye widened, but he otherwise kept his composure. Charlotte's normally tan skin turned ashen white and he looked as though he was looking at a ghost. Which, in a sense, he was – they were all looking at two men that had basically been brought back from the grave.

Barragan Luisenbarn and Yammy Rialgo stood in the doorway, their massive frames eclipsing almost all of the light that was pouring into the dark room from the hall beyond.

Stark didn't need to look over at Halibel to know she was attempting to burn a hole into his skull with her eyes; he could actually _feel _the look she was giving him from across the room. He kept _meaning_ to tell her that Yammy and Barragan were still alive and in hiding, he really did.

He just _forgot _to, is all.

Halibel rarely got mad. Especially at Stark – his calm demeanor and cool silver eyes were enough to diffuse almost any frustration that he caused her. He could even pull a stunt like the one he just had and disappear for a day only to end up dragging Ulquiorra Schiffer back into _Las Noches _behind him_. _And for some inexplicable reason, she would always wind up letting these things fall by the wayside.

It had nothing to do with the fact that he was the _Primera _and she wasn't. Throughout all of their planning, she had acted as more of a catalyst than he ever had. He was practically _her _subordinate throughout all of this. And with the exception of the little stunts he would pull – like recruiting Ulquiorra – he would usually do what she said without fail.

And it had _absolutely _nothing to do with the way she felt about him. What they had once shared had long since been over, and it was very obvious that he no longer shared her opinion on the subject. It wasn't much of anything in the first place, anyway; simply the two of them finding a glimmer of companionship in the dark and loneliness of their hollowed existence. It was completely over now, even if he still sometimes gave her chills when he gave her a certain look.

So sympathy and lust weren't the reasons that she constantly forgave him either. She just always did and always had.

But she was _really _going to kill him this time.

Halibel watched in a mixture of silent range and utter confusion as the two Arrancar stalked into the room, their presences creating a crushing gravity over the group of Espada that sat at the table. She tried making some sort of eye contact with Stark, but he was decisively avoiding her gaze by walking around to the head of the white room. So she instead turned her eyes to Barragan as he walked his way around the other side of the table. Charlotte Cuuhlhourne's skin still had a pallid tinge to it, but his paralysis had seemed to wear off; the moment Barragan was close to him, he launched himself from the chair and down onto one knee.

"Your majesty!" Charlotte called as he kneeled before his former master. His mouth opened and closed several times, but no words made their way from it. His shoulders pumped up and down heavily as he breathed, his dark and curly hair dragging the floor as he shoved his head down further. Barragan gently placed one of his massive hands on his former _fracción's _head, and looked down from an impassive eye. The corner of his mouth suddenly turned up slightly in a smirk and he grunted in a miniscule showing of approval. He let his hand drop before moving his way over to where Stark was standing. Charlotte was barely able to pull himself back into his seat.

"Ulquiorra!" Yammy called, snapping Halibel out of her observations of reverence. The massive Arrancar was standing only a foot or so away from her now, his large face pointed past her and at his one-time companion. Halibel stepped back slightly and crossed her arms under her chest as to allow Yammy to close the gap between himself and the green-eyed Arrancar that was standing beside her. As much as she disliked Ulquiorra, she had always admired his ability to tolerate Yammy's brutishness.

"Yammy," he said in his cold voice, his face showing absolutely no emotion at the reemergence of his old comrade. "I thought you were dead."

"Me?" he said through an enormous grin. "You think some measly little Shinigami could kill _me _in one shot? You have to be joking!" The _Cero _Espada bellowed out a hearty laugh as Halibel turned her attention to Barragan.

"And I assume you decided to fake your own death," she said in her steely voice, "Barragan?"

The white haired Espada simply grunted in response as he folded his large arms over his protruding belly. Halibel stepped away from Yammy and Ulquiorra and made her way around to the head of the table to stand near the two men that had always so easily taken the spotlight away from her.

"Why were the two of you in hiding?" Ulquiorra asked, once more turning towards Yammy. "Two Espada as powerful as you faking their own murders and then vanishing? It doesn't make sense."

Yammy grinned again but didn't answer, instead stepping away and walking around Ulquiorra to stand beside the trio that was already positioned at the head of the table. He turned back around and his smile was gone, replaced by a far more serious glare. Ulquiorra stood motionless as every set of eyes in the room traced back and forth between these three newcomers: the two ghosts and the traitor, all three of them formerly some of Aizen's most trusted and feared soldiers.

Barragan snorted indignantly. "You really think we can just tell you the reasons behind our actions? You truly think that we can trust _you?"_

"As I stated earlier," Ulquiorra said with a hint of venom in his otherwise monotonous voice, "even if I were trying to sabotage your operations, the four of you could easily over-power any attempt I made at—"

"It's not what you can _harm_ that worries me," Barragan said, cutting him off. "It's what you'd be able to talk about after you flew on back to Souls Society." A chuckle rumbled out of the back of his throat. "You don't think that I _know _how quickly I could kill you, Ulquiorra? Or did these last twenty-five years erase your memory of our rankings?"

Ulquiorra said nothing at the obvious taunting, his cold eyes staring into Barragan's from across the room. With a smirk, the elder Arrancar looked away and down towards the newly appointed _Segunda _Espada. He snorted and walked over to him, placing his big hands on the stoic Arrancar's shoulders.

"And speaking of rankings," he said, looking down at the orange haired Espada that sat still below him. "I see that we managed to catch one of the last two _Vasto Lorde. _Where's the other one?_"_

Drystan remained silent as Barragan's words descended upon him, the only movement he made at the comment was to allow his violet irises drift down sorrowfully. Barragan uttered a small _humph_ before squeezing the Espada's shoulders and walking back around the table.

"I see she didn't make it," he said without even feigning a remorseful tone. "However," he said as he made it back to the head of the room before extending a finger back at Drystan, "this _Espada _currently has my ranking."

"I thought you were dead, Barragan," Halibel said, her steady voice not even holding a glimmer of apology. "It was only logical to replace soldiers that we'd lost."

"Logical, eh?" he snorted out. "And I guess that's why Stark decided to bring the traitor back into our ranks as well? Well here's the thing: I'm not dead and we can't trust _him." _He jutted his finger forward at Ulquiorra. "So it sounds like we've got two problems on our hands," he snarled.

"So what should we do about it?" Stark asked, his eyes listing lazily from Ulquiorra to Drystan to Barragan. "If you have an idea, feel free to tell us."

Barragan reached up scratched at his chin for a moment before chortling slightly.

"As a matter of fact I do," he said, bringing his hand back down from his face. "Ulquiorra can kill Drystan."

Even Stark's eyes jutted open at his words. The entire room was murmuring in confusion at Barragan's insane statement; around the ovular white table, each of the Espada's eyes were shooting back and forth from one another to the four standing at its head. With the exception of Ulquiorra and Drystan, who were simply looking calmly at one another from across the room.

"How does that solve anything, Barragan?" Halibel asked, her normally calm voice now laced with a hint of irritation. "We need strong soldiers and your plan is to have them kill one another? How does that accomplish—?"

"It's simple," Barragan said, cutting her off. "I want my spot as the _Segunda _back. If Ulquiorra kills Drystan, I have it."

"And how does that solve your distrust of me?" Ulquiorra asked, his calm voice showing absolutely no concern for the situation he currently found himself in. "So what if I kill him and you reclaim your spot as the second Espada? I would still be here to cause you mental anguish."

"But you can't defeat him," Barragan said shortly, his white mustache curving up as he smirked. "You must know that if he was powerful enough for Halibel to rank as the newly appointed _Segunda _Espada, you're no match for him."

Ulquiorra stood still and watched Barragan for a moment in complete silence, his emerald eyes calming staring into the elderly Arrancar's. Once more the Espada around the table shifted uncomfortably at the silent exchange, each of them feeling the soundless battle raging between the two titans of Aizen Sousuke's grand army.

"And if I kill him?" Ulquiorra asked, finally breaking the impasse.

"You won't," came the brusque response.

"But if I do?_"_

"Then you will have earned my trust," Barragan replied. "By facing an opponent you have no chance in defeating just to prove yourself, I will believe that you are truly here to serve with us once again."

The silent room turned to Ulquiorra Schiffer once more, each of them awaiting his response with baited breath.

"Very well," was all he said before vanishing in a flash of _sonído._

Drystan barely had time to stand from his seat before Ulquiorra rematerialized in front of him, the green-eyed Arrancar's blade crashing down into his own. The orange-haired Espada was sent rocketing backwards and through the wall of the dark room, creating a large ray of artificial sunlight from the outside of the tower. Ulquiorra buzzed out of sight once more, this time chasing his prey out through the open air of _Las Noches'_ artificial desert.

The room was suddenly moving very quickly, each of the Espada that were sitting at the table now found themselves scrambling to exit the tower and reach the nearest balcony from which to watch the duel. Halibel wanted to balk at this behavior, but Barragan had obviously intended for this to be some sort of enjoyed spectacle; she couldn't exactly reprimand her Espada for wanting to witness the battle.

Besides, it had been a while since she'd seen a worthwhile fight herself.

She soon found herself on a balcony with the other three Espada of her generation, her teal eyes trained intensely on the two combatants in the desert ahead. She knew that in their sealed states, Drystan and Ulquiorra would be evenly matched. What really interested her was what was going to happen once they released; Drystan was definitely stronger than Ulquiorra and should have absolutely no problems in winning this duel. In fact, Halibel would prefer for it to end as such – the orange-haired Espada would ultimately be a greater asset to her mission, and one without a history of betrayal.

And yet…

Something about Ulquiorra's confidence had struck her as _off_. She completely understood the fact that a quarter of a century had passed since she had last seen the diminutive Arrancar and that he might have spent every day from then until now training. However, without stronger opponents to fight against, there was absolutely no way that he could ascend enough to defeat someone of Barragan's strength.

So why was he so sure of himself?

Ulquiorra spun and blocked as Drystan burst out of _sonído_ and swung his blade outwards. The two _katana _clashed and showered sparks down onto the sand at the duo's feet. Drystan pulled back and swung forward with his scabbard, the blue sheath barely missing Ulquiorra's head as his right arm came back around with the zanpakuto aimed for the kill. The green-eyed Arrancar dodged and skipped backwards as his opponent charged forward, stabbing with his sword and swinging with his scabbard. Ulquiorra blocked with his blade whenever he could, but he was still forced into a retreat.

Drystan swung low, aiming for Ulquiorra's legs. The former Espada leapt into the air and flipped forward, slashing his blade down at the head of his attacker as his long white coattails spiraled in the air above his feet. Ulquiorra landed behind Drystan, looking calmly at his opponent as he returned his left hand to its respective pocket. The orange-haired Espada's cheek had been opened slightly by Ulquiorra's last attack and crimson blood was now trickling its way down his face. For the first time since his Arrancarization, Drystan showed an emotion other than melancholia:

He smirked.

"I didn't want to fight you at first, Ulquiorra Schiffer," he said calmly. "The idea of fighting at the beck and call of another has always repulsed me. But now that I see this little game may be worth my time after all."

The Espada vanished suddenly, causing Ulquiorra's eyes to widen in surprise. Drystan reappeared behind him, slicing downwards with his blade the moment that the shorter Arrancar had turned around. The zanpakuto coursed a vicious arc down across Ulquiorra's chest, a thin jet of blood curving its way through the tear in his white jacket and into the air. Ulquiorra leapt back in time to outrun a second slash, rising into the air as Drystan's blade crashed down into the desert floor below and sent a massive pillar of sand into the sky.

Halibel watched carefully from her vantage point on the balcony above, her eyebrows knotting themselves up as she examined Ulquiorra's movements. Despite being at an obvious disadvantage, he showed absolutely no signs of distress or anxiety. Sure, this _was_ Ulquiorra after all; he could be disemboweled and still remain calm. But it was something else. He was still holding onto this obscene confidence. He still thought he could win.

"I'll allow you the chance to release your zanpakuto," Drystan called up from the sand below him, causing Halibel's attention to snap back to the fight. "If you want to last more than a few seconds, you'll want to be at full strength for when I release mine."

"Very well," Ulquiorra responded, pointing his blade downward at his opponent.

"Bind, _Murciélago."_

Ulquiorra suddenly vanished within an explosion of black rain, his small body disappearing entirely as the opaque liquid showered down upon the desert floor. As the dark torrent began to subside, its creator became visible again at the heart of the storm. His black wings stretched out and into the blue sky while his white robe fluttered softly in the light breeze of _Las Noches. _He looked down impassively at his opponent below, his green eyes coldly regarding the grinning Espada.

With a flash, Ulquiorra had traversed the space between himself and the ground as he pulled a spear of light from nothingness. He sliced forward with it as Drystan leapt backwards in shock, the deadly blade catching the other Arrancar's scabbard and cleaving it cleanly in half. Drystan smirked as Ulquiorra came at him again; this time both of the green-eyed Arrancar's hands were wielding a lance as he flew forward, each arm slashing out in an attempt to slaughter him.

Finally the orange-haired Espada buzzed away, reappearing on one of the numerous red towers behind Ulquiorra. He took a moment to look at his zanpakuto's ruined sheath before snickering and casting it aside.

"Not too bad," he said. "But I'm afraid Barragan was right: you're not a match for me."

He gripped his sword tightly before slamming it into the building at his feet, the red cylinder crumbling like a child's sandcastle under the weight of an oppressive foot. As the tower disintegrated beneath him, Drystan smiled and released an immense wave of _reiatsu_that blew away all the debris of the crumbling pillar_._

"Weep, _Soledad!"_

Halibel hardly had time to register the transformation itself before the fight was over.

She stood in awe as she looked down at the blood-soaked desert beneath her, trying to replay the movements she'd barely even seen. One second Drystan was hovering a hundred feet in the air and the next he was on the ground, Ulquiorra lying in a bloodied heap behind him. Drystan turned slowly and looked down at his fallen opponent, snickering slightly at Ulquiorra's now limbless torso that was lying in a pool of its own blood.

The released Espada's head remained relatively unchanged from what it had been moments ago. It was everything else that had changed. Or, rather, _disappeared. _At his neckline, was nothing more than a ragged slice and then bone below. All the rest of his body had become nothing more than a distorted skeleton with sharp and jagged bones jutting out at awkward angles. Along the side of his forearms were especially sharp ridges, both of which were covered in deep, scarlet blood. In his right hand was one of Ulquiorra's pale arms, the stump where it had been severed squirting out blood in small jets. The Espada looked at it for a moment before chucking it away thoughtlessly

Beside Halibel, Barragan chuckled. She turned to look at him and couldn't help but feel disgusted at his reaction. She was trying to create an army to fight Soul Society. Then he comes in and manages to sow discord in less than five minutes. And he thought it was _funny? _Couldn't he see that they certainly could have used Ulquiorra Schiffer? Back when he still had arms and legs, of course.

See?" Barragan growled. "Problem solved. I knew that he was no match for someone of our caliber."

Down on the sand, Drystan walked steadily on stilt-like legs to look over the body of his fallen opponent. As he hovered over Ulquiorra's torso, his ivory feet sinking into the blood-soaked sand beneath them, he snickered once more before raising an arm to finish the fight. He brought his fist crashing down, a jagged sliver of bone jutting out from his wrist like a makeshift dagger to pierce the fallen Arrancar's throat.

Drystan's eyes widened as one of Ulquiorra's arms appeared out of nowhere and grabbed onto his wrist, stopping it mere inches away from his neck. In his moment of shock, the Espada barely had time to register what was happening as his opponent's other three limbs made their way back into existence and the small Arrancar spun on the ground and swept Drystan's spindly legs out from beneath him. The moment he hit the ground, Ulquiorra slammed one of the lightning spears down through his empty ribcage, pinning him to the desert floor. His bat-like wings propelled himself upwards and into the fake blue sky, his cold green eyes watching his opponent struggle against the stake of light that held him down. Ulquiorra stuck out a single finger on his right hand.

"_Cero Oscuras."_

With a deafening roar, the black _cero _blasted downwards and plowed into the pinned Espada below. Sand blew up and out, blanketing the surrounding structures and the spectators that were perched upon them. Halibel had never seen Ulquiorra fight before; all of the people on the balcony had seen his released form, but he had never shown them his abilities. He possessed hyper-regeneration? And what was this incredible _cero _that he'd just demolished the desert floor with? She was beginning to wonder why Aizen had placed her above him all those years ago.

As the sandstorm settled and some sort of visibility returned to the arena in front of them, every Arrancar within _Las Noches_gasp somewhat at the massive crater that lay in the middle of the floor. And even more astonishing was the fact that Drystan was still standing at the very center of it. Half of the flesh that had been on his face was now missing, revealing a set of jagged teeth and a crooked jaw line and eye socket. The skeletal Hollow slowly rose his way out of the massive divot, laughing as he ascended.

"Ulquiorra!" he hollered through laughter. "Even a _cero _as powerful as that can't defeat someone like me! The _cero _is meant to burn away your opponents flesh; and as you can see, I have none of that."

Ulquiorra hovered motionlessly, watching as his opponent cackled and slowly rose up to meet him.

"I see," he responded down to the flying skeleton. "So, your confidence comes from your ideas of invincibility? Allow me to tear that away from you completely. Allow me to show you despair."

Drystan stopped his ascent as Ulquiorra's _reiatsu_ began to swallow up the entire dome of _Las Noches. _His one good eye widened in shock as this spiritual power began to materialize and envelop the Arrancar across from him, completely covering Ulquiorra in an entirely black chrysalis. As another wave of energy shot outwards at him, the dense blanket of _reiatsu _tore away, revealing a hellish and black demon.

Before Drystan could even move, before he could even _think _about defending himself, he was plummeting back towards the ground, his bony body spiraling as it fell. Ulquiorra appeared directly beside him, his golden irises staring harshly into the Espada's fear ridden face. From out of nowhere, a whip-like tail struck him in the ribs, sending Drystan flying back up into the air. Ulquiorra was already above him, his cold expression steady as his long black tail shot forward and wrapped itself around the Arrancar's bony neck. While the skeletal Espada dangled helplessly in front of him, Ulquiorra placed he hands together, creating a harsh glow of light from between his fingers.

"_Lanza del Relámpago."_

He swiftly separated his hands and created a lance as the distance between his palms grew. His right fist grasped at one side of the spear and he swung back with it, his eyes looking into the face of his opponent. Without so much as a word, Ulquiorra's weapon roared forward, demolishing Drystan's entire lower body as he followed through with the slice. He came back around quickly, releasing his tail's grip upon the Arrancar's neck before completely disintegrating the rest of his enemy with the lance of lightning.

Halibel watched in silent shock as Drystan's remains fluttered down like ashes to the sand below. She had absolutely _no _idea Ulquiorra had a second release state. She didn't even know that was _possible. _And yet she had just witnessed it. Ulquiorra had just demolished an Espada that was easily as powerful as Barragan, and hadn't even broken a sweat doing it. Surely Aizen couldn't have known about that ability? If he had, he certainly would have used it to his advantage, right? She cut her eyes to the side and caught a glimpse of Barragan. His face was slightly red and his fists were balled up down by his waist. She couldn't help but find a touch of amusement in his frustration.

With a buzz, Ulquiorra appeared directly in front of them, his long black tail curling and twisting like a serpent behind him, his massive wingspan blocking the sun from their eyes. His green and yellow eyes were staring fiercely into Barragan's, causing the older Espada to stick out his chest slightly. Halibel knew that Barragan was issuing a silent challenge to Ulquiorra, but the devil in front of them did nothing but glare into the old man's good eye. After a moment that felt like aeons, Ulquiorra turned slowly and flew away as Barragan let out a small sigh of relief.

Halibel heard Stark chuckle. She could completely commiserate; she felt like smiling, too.

Their army of Espada was finally complete.

* * *

_**author's note**_

_i have wanted to write a fight scene with ulquiorra for SO LONG. damn that felt good._

_so hopefully these two quick chapters make up for my month off? eh? yah?_

_big shout out to__**jazzpha**__for going to sleep instead of beta'ing this for me. everyone go check out his stuff and call him an old woman for going to sleep so early. seriously though, i got a sneak peak of the next chapter for his story,__**Torn,**__and it looks absolutely awesome. everyone go read it. and, you know... call him an old lady._

_anyhoo, i hope youse guys enjoyed this. cuz i really did.__**reveiw and let a buddy know?**_

_gettin a chicken sandwich and some waffle fries for free,_

_jta~_

_**mescal rite - tomahawk**_


	17. Low II: Weeping Wall

_**Low II: Weeping Wall**_

Kyoraku Shunsui could tell from the look on his old friend's face that something bad had happened. Over the centuries that he had known Unohana Retsu, he had seen her at her best and her worst and at all the moments in between. After all that time, he had come to notice that there were some definite facial expressions that would give away her inner thoughts. While the changes were extremely minute – ranging anywhere from an extra blink to a single quiver of her lower lip – he knew exactly what each one entailed for her. And in turn, for him as well; an angry Unohana Retsu could only mean trouble for him.

The look that was on her face right now, with her eyes looking down and a frown scarring her mouth, let him know that she was feeling a bit apprehensive and more than a little betrayed. Shunsui's eyes immediately followed his thoughts as he looked over to Hirako Shinji, the Vizard that was standing next to his captain with his usual smug grin unaffected by whatever news the Shinigami next to him had heard. With a deliberate motion, Shunsui thumbed up the brim of his straw hat, moving his face out of the shadow so that he could get a better look at Shinji. Shunsui had always liked Hirako Shinji, but right now he was suppressing an urge to leap forward and grab him by his blonde hair before throwing him out into Rukongai. Something about that smile was causing his blood to boil.

"My captains," Retsu called out over the group of Shinigami that had been milling around her quarters. "We may have a problem."

Without another word, the Captain-commander turned around and walked back into the bowels of her meeting room. Kyoraku exchanged a concerned look with Captain Komamura before wordlessly following Unohana inside. The present captains took up their respective spots in line, leaving spaces for those absent by force of habit. Shunsui leaned forward anxiously; for the first time in the history of his captaincy, he wished that he was actually _closer _to the front of the room.

Unohana turned slowly and deliberately, before sweeping her always gentle eyes over the room.

"Ulquiorra Schiffer has defected from Soul Society."

A hush fell over the room at the Captain-commander's words, the gravity of the news crushing all of the present Shinigami like the foot of a giant.

"According to accounts from the team in Karakura Town, he was last seen yesterday evening by Captain Kurosaki," She continued. "They have confirmed that he was involved in a duel against another Arrancar before he vanished. He is assumed to now be in allegiance with the Espada."

"Assumed?" Shunsui asked, the tone in his voice showing hope that this could still be a misunderstanding. The last thing he wanted was for Lieutenant Schiffer to be fighting against them. "How are we _unsure_ of this, exactly?"

"We have no actual evidence that he has deserted his duties," she said, "but Hirako tells me that the team in Karakura has all but agreed on this being the case."

"I think the smartest thing to do," Hitsugaya cut in, "would be to avoid jumping to conclusions about our own allies."

"And risk being blindsided?" Kurotsuchi Mayuri asked from across the aisle. "That Arrancar could easily kill you, Captain Hitsugaya; I don't think it would be wise to ignore a possible threat like that."

"I hate to say this, Toshirou," Isane spoke up from the front of the room, "but Captain Kurotsuchi is correct. We cannot allow a betrayal to grow into our weak point."

A silence fell over the room. Shunsui's eyes shifted to Unohana's face to those of his fellow captains. He sighed loudly and dramatically before thumbing up the brim of his hat once more, his trademarked grin spreading across his mouth.

"So," he said, breaking the impasse. "What should we do, Captain?"

Retsu smiled gently at him before turning her attention to the rest of the room. "If Ulquiorra is indeed within the ranks of Hueco Mundo, he is very likely supplying them with information, as well as providing them with another soldier. My proposal is that we prepare for an immediate attack to come to Soul Society."

"But Captain," Hitsugaya spoke up, "we've already prepared our divisions for a siege. What else is there to set up?"

"I need each of you to take up residence in a division other than your own," Unohana said.

"Captain?" Komamura spoke up. "For what reason are we doing this?"

"If Ulquiorra is supplying them with information," Captain Kotetsu responded, already understanding her former captain's plan, "then he can lead specific Espada to specific opponents. They would be able to efficiently match themselves with targets to give themselves an advantage."

"Precisely," Unohana said with a serious face. "That's why I want each of you to take over another division."

A silence held in the room. Shunsui could practically taste the uneasiness, the sour sense of doubt that was thick upon the air. He wanted to jump to Retsu's aide, but he couldn't think of any way to break the tension without sounding like a grade-A brownnoser. And that just wasn't his style. So he did the best thing that he could think of. He teased her a little.

"My my, Captain-Commander," he said in a tone that he hadn't used since Ol' Yama was still in command, causing Retsu to cock an eyebrow at him. "Such a risky plan you've cooked up there. And what about all the division formations you had us captains map out? We aren't just throwing those away now, are we?"

Unohana smiled at him in silent appreciation before squaring her shoulders slightly. "Of course we aren't. After reading the preliminary reports from each division, I've noticed that each of you devised the same defense strategy. At least on a fundamental enough level to allow for this temporary change in leadership."

The room shifted uncomfortably, but the feeling of dread was nowhere near as palpable as it had been a moment ago. The confidence that their Captain-commander had in both the plan and in their ability to pull it off provided a tremendous boost in morale. Within a few moments, all of the present captains had settled into an understanding rhythm as they attempted to sort this new plan out.

"Lieutenant Hinamori and I will take over the thirteenth," was Hitsugaya's sudden offering. "I have a standing camaraderie with Captain Kurosaki and thus his division sees me in a favorable light."

"The same goes for Captain Kyoraku and myself," Komamura said. "Our divisions being right next to one another, we're always witness the mingling of our members. It would be wise if we simply switched divisions."

"Not to mention," Shunsui spoke up agreeably, "that if anyone is looking for me and they find Komamura, I'll only be a second away. And vice-versa."

"How are we going to spread out our forces evenly?" Byakuya asked from the middle of the room, his critical tone crushing the progress in the group. "With four captains out on missions, there aren't enough of us to watch over each division."

"My lieutenant has an extensive knowledge in both the healing arts and surgical medicine," Kira spoke up, quickly quelling Byakuya's criticisms. "If I were to take over the fifth in Captain Abarai's absence, then she could be next-door at the fourth."

"With all due respect," Ikkaku spoke up from the back, opening his eyes for the first time since the meeting began, "how do we know that Nemu has what it takes to head a division?"

"Without _any _respect," Kurotsuchi Mayuri snapped vitriol, his golden irises seeking out the captain of the eleventh division. "All of my creations have held a near flawless success rate; I would imagine that Nemu is equal with the rest of her brood."

"As much as I abhor doing it," Kira spoke up, "I must agree with Captain Kurotsuchi. Nemu has been a lieutenant longer than _you _had even been a third-seat, Captain Madarame."

"And regardless of what you think of her," Kotetsu Isane said sharply, the uncharacteristic tone in her voice silencing the three arguing captains, "I have absolute faith in Lieutenant Kurotsuchi watching over my division."

The meeting continued for another ten minutes as the captains decided upon who made the most logical replacement for each division. Shunsui began to lose interest quickly, but he managed to keep his mind on the conversation long enough to see that Hitsugaya volunteered his lieutenant to the twelfth division, while Mayuri and Akon would be splitting and going to the second and eleventh divisions, respectively. He heard something else about Iemura taking over for the tenth, which Shunsui thought was entirely too polite on Toshirou's part.

Either way, for better or worse, the meeting was adjourned and the captains filed out of the rooms to make final preparations for this new defense strategy. Shunsui had made it out the door before slowing down and turning his head to look back at Retsu. His jaw clenched as he saw Hirako close the distance between the two of them and walk alongside her as they strolled into the back of the division. Retsu looked back then, her impossibly dark blue eyes meeting his in a silent plea.

Time slowed for Kyoraku Shunsui. All of the sudden the situation before him didn't seem right. Shinji was up to something – the way he'd been hovering around Unohana since he'd arrived in Soul Society, his mouth always by her ear, always at the ready to whisper decisions into it. It seemed as though every plan that they had enacted since the Vizards had appeared had been co-authored by the former captain. It was as if Hirako Shinji knew that he was the only person in the universe to whom Retsu was powerless to say no.

Shunsui turned on the ball of his foot, intent on saying something to Retsu. Something to help her. Unfortunately, the massive chest of Captain Komamura Sajin blocked his path.

"Is something the matter, Kyoraku?" the large captain asked down at him. "You looked troubled."

Shunsui looked up into the canine's face before smiling a fake, but friendly, smile. "Of course not," he said as he sneaked one last glance at Unohana's retreating back. "I had something I was gonna say to Captain Unohana, but it can wait. I'm sure that I'll see her again soon enough."

"Well then, my old friend," Komamura said as he walked past Shunsui, a massive hand resting on the smaller man's shoulder for a moment before sliding off. "We have a long afternoon ahead of us. Shall we get moving?"

Shunsui looked around Komamura and into the empty room beyond him, the uneasy feeling moving from his mind and settling itself into his stomach.

"Yeah. Let's go."

* * *

"Are you serious, Stark?" Barragan questioned, his gruff voice echoing off the high ceiling. "You're going to leave _him _in charge?"

Stark rubbed the side of his face, his eyes only half open as they gazed lazily at the fuming old man. Ulquiorra watched all of this with obvious disinterest – Barragan had been complaining practically non-stop since the green-eyed Arrancar was welcomed back into their ranks. Ulquiorra could have suspected as much, considering the obstinate nature of the elderly _Segunda. _Frankly, Ulquiorra could care less if Barragan trusted him or not; the inability to believe him would do little to impair his ability to serve in the Espada.

"I don't see a problem with it," Stark said sleepily, his attention more on the _garganta_ that was closing in front of him. The first unit of Arrancar had been deployed and their plans were finally under way. Despite his apparent apathy, Ulquiorra could see that Stark was quite excited; all of their preparation had finally spiraled down to this moment.

"You seem to forget who's really in charge of this whole operation, Stark," Barragan said as he rubbed his mustache, his eyes far more furious than his facial expressions implied. "You may be the _Primera, _but you still answer to _him_."

"And when he's not here," Halibel countered as she coursed into the room, "_we're_ in charge." She stared down at Barragan, her teal eyes drilling into his single iris. "Or did _you _forget?"

Barragan turned away from her, grunting indignantly he looked at Ulquiorra. "Fine," he spat. "But I want Yammy to remain here with him."

The _Cero_ Espada clicked his tongue loudly from his seat across the room.

"Are you sure that's a wise decision?" Halibel said as she slipped her white gloves over the tanned skin of her hands and forearms. "We may need Yammy to come with us; we're already leaving the _Sexta _here, not to mention the two—"

"No," Ulquiorra interrupted. "Leave Yammy with me. I will need him."

A silence held in the room for a while before Halibel turned away. "Fine," she said flatly as she strapped her _Tiburón_ across her shoulder blades. With a sigh, she pressed a finger to the air in front of her. "I guess it'll just be the three of us again."

With a tinny tearing sound, the jagged teeth of the _garganta _opened and revealed the abyssal dimension that existed between worlds. Without another word, the top three Espada walked forward and into the portal. The black maw soon closed, leaving the air in front of the other two Arrancar unmarred. Ulquiorra turned and faced his large companion, noticing that Yammy had begun to increase in size over the last few hours. That was good – it meant that he was ready.

"You know they're here, right?" Yammy asked as he stood up from his seat. "Broke in through the south wall about five minutes ago."

"Yes," Ulquiorra replied stoically, his eyes closed. "Remember what I told you earlier, Yammy. I need you to ensure that they do not remain together."

"Yeah, I know," Yammy said in irritation, like a child being told to clean up his toys. "You want to take him on all by yourself, then? How are you gonna get him here?"

Ulquiorra remained silent, instead answering the question by releasing a crushing burst of _reiatsu,_ the dark, oppressive energy roaring out of him and spilling over _Las Noches_like a powerful tsunami. Some of the buildings began to shake under the force of the spiritual pressure and the lights in the hallway outside of the throne room began to flicker slightly. Slowly, the green-eyed Arrancar let the

"Heh," Yammy snorted. "That'll get him movin' alright. I guess I'd better hurry then." The brutish Espada turned to leave, ducking his head so that he could make it through the frame of the doorway.

Ulquiorra stood silently in the throne room, his hands placed inside of his pockets. He closed his eyes again as he waited for his own plans to begin. He suddenly felt the flaring of a familiar_reiatsu,_a veritable response to his call. His emerald eyes opened at the spiritual pressure and he looked forward at the door of the room.

_Come, Grimmjow.

* * *

_

Grimmjow squinted his eyes in an effort to extend his vision a bit further. The palace of _Las Noches _stretched out before their group, the massive white walls running through the desert all the way to the horizon. They had finally reached the building, after walking for what surely must have been a whole day. Now that they were actually there, however, Grimmjow wanted to make sure their arduous journey hadn't been in vain.

His light blue eyes swept over the wall once more before he turned around and faced the rest of the group. They were looking up at him from the base of the sand dune he was standing on, their eyes watching him in silent craving for information. He knew the feeling; after the hell they'd just gone through, the last thing any of them wanted to do was to walk into a trap. The coast, fortunately, was clear.

"Looks good," Grimmjow said as he slowly walked back down the dune. "It doesn't look like they've got any sentries or anything. Considering that Halibel knows we're here, I'm surprised that they don't have a fucking slew of _numeros _guarding the place."

"Don't curse good fortune, dumbass," Renji said as he stood and began to make his way past Grimmjow to the top of the dune.

"'The fuck you goin'?" Grimmjow asked, stopping and shooting a glare over his shoulder as the red-haired Shinigami began to stalk his way towards the cyclopean palace. "The nearest entrance is probably another six hours east of here."

"That didn't stop us last time," Rukia said as she followed her captain up the dune.

"Last time?" Grimmjow asked, one of his thin eyebrows arched. "How'd you get in last time?"

"Like we're probably gonna get in this time," Rukia said with a snicker. "Through the wall."

"Through the wa…?" Grimmjow's question trailed off as he watched Abarai Renji begin to smash his way into the building's stone. His mouth hung open for a moment in absolute disbelief; _that _was how they'd infiltrated _Las Noches? _By breaking down some rocks and making a tunnel? He didn't know whether to be surprised or insulted. Although, with Ichigo and Renji at the helm of that mission, he couldn't really be too surprised.

The thought did hurt his pride a bit, however.

"You can stop pouting now," Soi Fon quipped snarkily as she walked passed Grimmjow and followed the rest of the team, a teasing smile playing on her lips as she looked at him. "It doesn't suit you."

"Shut the hell up," Grimmjow growled back, only half playfully. Soi Fon smirked back at him, her mouth curving up at the left corner in a perversion of his own lips.

"Come on," she said as she moved lithely towards the palace walls. "Unless you want Renji to get through that wall and show you up some more."

Grimmjow glared but Soi Fon simply turned her head and continued walking. With a small sigh, he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked slowly forward, toward the rest of his team. Renji and Kensei had already practically broken through the wall; Grimmjow figured he could sit this one out and let the two of them hammer away until a big enough hole appeared.

Which didn't take long. During the past few hours, Kensei and Renji had slowly brought their would-be machismo rivalry back up to the fore. The two of them once more seemed ready to out-do each other, no matter what the task at hand was. Including smashing giant holes in a stone wall. Grimmjow was perfectly fine letting them hack away.

As if to prove his thoughts, the hole in the wall was nearly complete by the time he finished his casual stroll up to the rest of the group. Renji and Kensei were panting slightly, each man glaring slightly at the other. With a roll of his eyes, Grimmjow stepped forward.

"Now that we're here," he said forcefully, causing the two men to break their staring contest. "Who's going where?"

"What do you mean?" Renji asked, his face twisting up slightly as Grimmjow took the lead of his mission. "Are you saying we should split up?"

"That's exactly what he's saying," Kensei broke in, smirking slightly as he took the reins away from his red-haired competitor. "That way we can cover more ground in less time."

"That's true, but," Rukia chimed in, her voice sounding a touch reticent, "the last time we had a group split up in _Las Noches, _we were met with a pretty disastrous outcome."

"And you were also just a group of brash children back then," Soi Fon snapped, her voice cutting through Rukia's argument like a blade through cloth. "I don't think that this group will face the same disadvantages that you did before."

Grimmjow swallowed back a laugh as the lieutenant visibly shrank away from his captain. He sometimes forgot that Soi Fon could verbally render most of her fellow Shinigami speechless at the drop of a hat – she was a master of the condescending tone and an adept user of derisive looks. It was one of the many things he loved about her.

"We always remained together during _our_ missions, Grimmjow," Renji said sharply, practically barking the words as if they were an order. "Never mind the fact that they surely know we're coming—"

"Do you have any idea _why _your idiotic attack on us worked the first time, Renji?" Grimmjow asked. "It's _because _you split up. Had the five of you remained together, one of the higher Espada would have fucking waxed you in ten minutes."

Renji stared blankly at Grimmjow for a few moments before turning quickly and stalking his way into the fissure he'd created. The rest of the group soon followed suit, each of them treading quietly over the rubble that littered the ground inside the makeshift doorway. Once inside the palace, however, the mood changed drastically. The somewhat jovial nature that had thus far embodied their mission, even during the dark moments in the Menos Forest, was all but gone. The empty halls of _Las Noches_ practically demanded silence from them as they traversed through the unoccupied ground-level floor.

It wasn't long until they came upon a trio of diverging paths, causing the group to stop and look at one another silently. None of them really wanted to break the stillness that they had been travelling with; Grimmjow felt as though the fist sound to be made would surely bring trouble. Despite his readiness for what he _knew_ would be a violent set of skirmishes, he didn't want to be the one that brought excess trouble to the group. Especially in such close quarters.

"Well," Renji said, being the first to break that silence. "If we're gonna split up, I'd guess this is the place to do it." He looked around the group, his dark eyes scanning the five people in front of him. "Who's goin' with who?"

"Kensei-meanie and I can go that way together," Mashiro said in a bubbly voice that was _almost _too loud for comfort. "We already fight best together, even if he _is_ stupid." Kensei rolled his eyes and they both began to walk down the left corridor.

"Yeah, but," Renji stammered slightly at them as they began to disappear into the shadows of the hall. "Shouldn't one of you pair up with us? How will you guys know where to go?"

Kensei stopped and turned around slowly, his lip almost curled up in a snarl. "You think that Soul Society were the only ones to come here and ransack the place after Aizen was defeated?" Renji opened his mouth to speak, but the words never came out and Muguruma Kensei continued in the captain's silence. "Trust me when I say that we know our way around this place just fine."

Before anyone could say another word, the two Vizards vanished away into the dark. Grimmjow shot a look over to Soi Fon, his blue eyes giving meeting hers in silent communication: _That was strange._

Renji stormed off down the right corridor with a grunt, leaving his lieutenant to give Grimmjow and Soi Fon one last confused look before hurrying after him. Alone for the first time in two days, the two lovers from the second division walked silently onward, taking the hallway that lay directly in front of them.

"Do you know where you're going?" Soi Fon asked, her tone of voice only slightly mocking.

"Yes I do," Grimmjow replied casually, looking her over body slowly in his peripheral vision.

"What's this way?" she asked again, her words a touch sultry, but still hiding her true intentions. "Anybody we should be worried about?"

"Nope," he said casually, turning his head to face her. "Nothin' this way for a while."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Soi Fon pounced onto him immediately, her arms wrapping around his neck as she drove her mouth onto his. He stumbled back slightly in surprise before hitting his back against the wall. Well, he wasn't exactly _surprised –_he'd known exactly where her line of questioning was headed – but the sudden sexual contact was more than enough to slightly shock him. Still, he wasted little time as he returned her kiss passionately, his hands sliding along her thin waist. He gripped down on her hips and spun her around, his chest pressing against her body as he pinned her against the white wall.

He knew that having sex in the halls of _Las Noches _would be considered a ridiculously dumb move for anyone else, but Grimmjow had a long list of mistakes under his belt; this wouldn't even come close to most of the stupid shit he'd done in his life as an Arrancar. And with Soi Fon biting his neck, just below where his jaw met his earlobe, he had even less of a reason to stop himself.

Until the sound of a _garganta _opening tore him away from her. She gasped in surprise as he jerked himself from her, tilting his head slightly to aid in listening.

"Grimmjow? What's wrong?" She hadn't heard it; hell, _he'd _barely heard it.

"A _garganta," _he said, the majority of his attention still focused on his surroundings. "A real fuckin' quiet one, at that."

"A _garganta_?" Soi asked, her eyes tightening in concentration as her right hand absent-mindedly reached backwards to rest on the handle of her zanpakuto. "Are they coming or going?"'

"They're leavin'," he said in slight disbelief. The sound had been muffled, a common occurrence when a _garganta _is opened in _Hueco Mundo._ The sound of the dimensional portal hissing shut suddenly filled his attentive ears, the soft noise lending more credence to his theory of their unseen enemy's departure.

Soi Fon furrowed her brow. "Why would they be leaving when they know we're here?"

"I don't know," he said. "It doesn't make any…"

He trailed off before looking at Soi Fon, his eyes wide. The look on her face mimicked his own in its surprise; they had both arrived at the same conclusion: the Espada were going after Soul Society.

"_Shit," _Grimmjow hissed as he stuck a finger into the space in front of them. The air trembled slightly before splitting in jagged lines, a dark maw opening at his touch. He and Soi Fon would immediately return to Seireitei to fight against the Arrancar. He knew that the Vizards must have heard the sound as well; hopefully they would be rushing to Soul Society as well. Renji and Rukia, however, would have to wait. There wasn't any time to—

The portal stopped opening suddenly and began to twist and turn against the air. With a bestial groan, the _garganta _slammed shut and collapsed in on itself.

"What the _fuck?"_ Grimmjow hissed as he stuck his hand out once more in an attempt to open another gateway. The air distorted slightly before returning to normal. _They must have turned that _garganta _field back on or some—_

A massive wave of _reiatsu _rained down from the ceiling, the spiritual energy pressing down on them like a solid stone block. Soi Fon shot a look over at him, her face contorted in a mixture of confusion and fear. Her eyes were screaming at him, asking what this horrible pressure was, asking who it belonged. Grimmjow struggled against the absurd force, gritting his teeth as the wave began to ebb away and the grinding in his bones slowly dissipated.

"What the hell _was_ that?" Soi Fon said, her voice shaking slightly after the strain.

Grimmjow said nothing for a moment, his sky-blue eyes trained down at the floor ahead of them. Eventually he turned to her and his expression was more troubled than she'd ever seen before.

"That," he said solemnly, "was Ulquiorra."

* * *

Hisagi Shuuhei sat at the sushi bar, his elbows resting on the wooden counter as his hands propped his head up. He was exhausted. He hadn't slept in over a day, and what little sleep he had gotten had been quickly negated by the destructive life-or-death fight he'd participated in the night before. He knew that he should be catching a few hours of shut-eye, but his mind had been racing all morning. There was no way he was going to sleep with all that had developed.

That and he wasn't getting a wink without silencing his grumbling stomach.

The fact that this small, family-operated sushi bar was open today was an absolute miracle. Considering that several buildings in the town had been destroyed last night had caused the local authorities to cry _terrorist attack, _he'd assumed that every shop within the city would have been closed_. _Add in the fact that Hisagi could look out the window and see the apartment complex that the Arrancar girl had almost vaporized and he could only shake his head and count his blessings that this place was still open.

_Arrancar, _he thought to himself and sighed as the old woman behind the counter handed a plate of fish slices to him. He took the plate with a gracious smile that did nothing to belie the tired soul that was crammed inside of the _giga i_sitting in front of her.

The girl, Lilinette, was still refusing to cooperate with any of them. The only useful bit of information had come when Ichigo had overheard her murmur something about the _hogyouku. _Hisagi's mind had immediately jumped to the horrific thought of the Espada's army having the powerful orb in their clutches. His guess hadn't been destined to remain alone – Urahara had immediately spoken the same thought, exclaiming that it was possible to further increase an Arrancar's strength through a second exposure to the object.

Unfortunately, the girl wasn't telling them anything beyond her informative slip-up from before.

Hisagi reached across as the old woman handed him another platter of raw fish and a tea cup. Hisagi immediately poured the _oolong _down his throat, enjoying the burn that the _shochu _in the tea left in his belly. He placed the cup back onto the counter and motioned at it with his eyes. The old woman gave him a strange look before taking the cup away to refill it. He completely understood the face she'd made at him; that was his third cup of the alcohol-laden tea and it was only noon.

But after a night like the one he'd had – and the hellish itinerary in store for the rest of this mission – he needed a way to wind down. And an expensive lunch seemed like the only way for him to achieve that goal. A few smudged numbers in his paperwork and the food would be paid for out of the mission budget anyway, so he might as well try and relax. If only for the moment.

He'd begun to swirl a slice of fatty tuna in a small dish that was more wasabi than soy sauce when the door slid open behind him. He didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"Captain Kurosaki," Shuuhei said before sliding the red slice of fish into his mouth, Ichigo slipping into the chair next to him. The Captain of the thirteenth division had come back to the Urahara residence after deeming that Orihime would be safe in her home. He had been there for the past two hours, watching over Lilinette. "Would you care for some lunch?"

"Is the ninth paying?" the other captain inquired with a smirk.

"You've been a captain long enough to know the drill," Hisagi responded after swallowing his food. The old woman returned with the tattooed Shinigami's drink and looked at Ichigo politely. He pointed at the items in front of his fellow captain and then held up two fingers. The old woman turned away quickly to prepare his order.

"So," Hisagi asked, not looking up from the seafood in front of him. "Any progress?"

"On which side of things?" Ichigo asked as the female proprietor returned with his drink, her old hands setting it down silently as he continued to talk. "Urahara and Hiyori have finally stopped giving each other the evil-eye." He sipped his drink before coughing slightly and looking incredulously at Hisagi. He obviously hadn't expected alcohol so early in the day.

Hisagi ignored the look. "What do you make of that?" he asked as the other Shinigami sipped from his cup once more, his palate now more prepared for the assault of the _shochu._"You know the Vizards far better than I do. Do they usually act this suspiciously?"

"In all honesty," Ichigo replied, "yeah, they usually do. But something is a little off about it."

"Off? How so?"

"I can't really put my finger on it," Ichigo replied as his food arrived. "Shinji's always been frighteningly intuitive like that. He's always one step ahead of everyone. Any other day and I wouldn't have even batted an eye at him guessing at Ulquiorra's defection. But…"

Hisagi cocked an eyebrow as his companion shoved some octopus into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. "But what?"

Ichigo swallowed and furrowed his brow. "Urahara. He's known Hiyori and Shinji longer than any of us have, and he trusts them probably more than anyone ever will. If there is anyone in this world that could be considered his allies, it would be the two of them. But that old man might be the smartest person I've ever met. The fact that he thinks something smells fishy make me nervous."

"It smells fishy?" the old woman inquired with a worried look, her concern immediately breaking the heavy atmosphere that the two Shinigami had created. Ichigo laughed and waved her off, telling her that the food was excellent. Hisagi smiled; it was rare that a restaurant owner in the real world cared at all about the quality of her food. He could usually only find such dedication from the chefs in the Kyoraku manor.

He chewed his food thoughtfully for a moment before washing it down with some of his spiked tea. The silence quickly returned and lasted for a few moments as the pair of captains ate wordlessly. Hisagi turned his head back to Ichigo, who was in the process of chewing through some squid.

"And the girl?" Hisagi asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

Ichigo rolled his eyes as he swallowed his food. "She hasn't spoken a word in over an hour. Yumichika's in there with her right now."

"The hell I am," Yumichika's voice blurted out from behind them as the door to the restaurant slid open with a bang. "I've met wild boars in Rukongai with better attitudes than that impertinent little shit."

He quickly grabbed Ichigo's cup and poured the remainder of the liquid down his throat, a small cough murmuring out as he slammed the cup back down on the counter. He obviously wasn't expecting the alcohol either, but he didn't seem to mind – as evidenced by him sitting down and ordering one for himself.

"I take it you couldn't get anything out of her, either?" Ichigo asked with a chuckle.

"Does it sound like I did?" Yumichika replied snootily as the old woman returned with his drink, as well as another for Ichigo. He brushed his black hair back over his right ear briskly as he continued. "The only thing I got to come out of that kid's mouth was a spitball. And I'm not even joking. She fucking _spit_ on me."

Hisagi tried his hardest, but he couldn't hold it in. Unlike Ichigo, however, he at least turned his head and laughed into his shoulder. Captain Kurosaki was flat-out laughing into the violet-eyed lieutenant's face. Yumichika's normally delicate and reserved features twisted into a snarl as he whirled on Ichigo.

"You think that's _funny?_" Yumichika snapped comically at the orange-haired Shinigami, favoring their long-standing camaraderie over their respective ranks as he yelled at his superior. "How about if I spit on you, huh? Would that be funny to you?"

"It would be funny to _me_," Hisagi spoke up as he pushed the last slice of sushi into his mouth. Yumichika sneered at him.

"_You_ brought her here," he quipped, "why don't _you _go back and try to get some info out of the little monster?"

"Alright, fine," Hisagi said, standing from his seat. He picked up a small Styrofoam box from the seat beside him and turned for the door.

"What's in the box?" Ichigo asked casually, turning in his seat and resting an elbow on the back of the chair.

"A bribe," Hisagi replied as he lifted the take-out box slightly. He stopped at the door and turned back to the old woman. He bowed his head slightly to her. "Thank you very much for the service. Make sure these gentlemen tip you handsomely."

"Oi!" Ichigo called out as Hisagi left the restaurant.

As the captain of the ninth division walked across the street to the Urahara Shop, enjoying the feel of the free food in his stomach, he eyed the dark clouds that were roiling on the horizon. He could smell rain off in the distance, the thick and earthy smell wafting into his nostrils, carrying with it a pleasant level of nostalgia.

_Interesting, _he thought as he ducked into the Shop. _The skies were perfectly clear this morning._

Captain Kurosaki had been right about Urahara; he and the Vizard girl no longer seemed to be fighting with one another. But that didn't mean that they had made amends. Hiyori was sitting across the room, her arms and legs crossed as she looked out the window with an agitated expression on her face. Her amber eyes flicked over at him for a moment before she looked back out the window, her gaze trailing along the encroaching clouds. Urahara Kisuke was nowhere to be found.

Hisagi decided that he was better off remaining silent as he moved towards the back of the building. His feet slid silently along the floors before he reached the room furthest from the Shop's entrance. He stopped for a moment and enjoyed the silence that he knew was about to be broken. He slid open the door and stepped into the small bedroom that held his prisoner.

He was met by a piercing pink iris. He walked slowly, his small black eyes meeting the harsh gaze as he approached the bed that she was strapped to. He moved deliberately without breaking eye contact with the Arrancar, placing the Styrofoam box of sushi on the nightstand next to her. He kept his eyes on her as he turned and walked back to the chair that was resting against the far wall. He sat down and crossed his arms.

"You're not gonna spit on me," he asked with a teasingly snarky tone, "Are you?"

She snickered. "You're not gonna watch me sleep anymore, are you?"

Hisagi found himself at a loss for words. He hadn't known that she was watching him watch her earlier. He also didn't like the tone in her question; it made him feel extremely lecherous. He tried his best to look a little less irritated than he felt.

"We'll see," he said, wrapping his embarrassment in a joke. Lilinette almost smirked. "Do you have the _hogyouku?"_

The quick subject change did nothing to cut through her shield of silence as he sat across from her, his only answer coming in the form of her glaring eye. He held her stare as long as he could, hoping to regain some of his lost dignity by beating her in this pointless staring contest.

Her eye suddenly cut away from his face to the box of food on the nightstand beside her head. She looked at it for a few moments; Hisagi could see her small nostrils flaring slightly as she sniffed at the sushi inside of the white container. He smirked as the small Arrancar brought her sights back to him.

"Yeah," he said, "That _might_ be for you. Tell me if you've got the _hogyouku _or not and your chances will get better."

"What makes you think we've got it?" she asked after a scoff. "Other than 'I mentioned it earlier'?"

"Because I remember you from the War," Hisagi said, his face darkening with his voice. "I remember Captain Ukitake taking your sword and taunting you. I remember you being pretty much useless on the battlefield."

Lilinette cut her head to the side but said nothing. Hisagi could tell that he'd hurt her pride, but the situation called for rough approach. It might have been a step back from his "nice-guy" method of interrogation, but he would hopefully be taking a few steps forward soon. He'd heard a saying in the real world one time: You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.

Especially when those eggs were a stubborn little girl.

"And then," he continued, "all of the sudden you become the _Septíma _Espada and fight on-par with a Shinigami Captain. Urahara Kisuke tells me that upon a second exposure to the _hogyouku _an Arrancar can practically double their abilities." He looked at her sternly as she slowly turned her face back towards him. "It didn't take long for me to put two and two together."

She chuckled. "Well aren't you Shinigami just as clever as I've heard you were? Yeah," she said, "We've got the thing."

Hisagi had expected that to be her answer, but actually hearing the words took his breath away. If the any of the original Espada were still alive and could expose themselves to the _hogyouku, _then Soul Society might be in some real trouble. And now with Ulquiorra on their side… Hisagi shuddered with the thought of his former ally gaining even more strength.

His eyes widened suddenly as a terrifying thought raced into his mind.

"Hang on a second. Urahara said that the _hogyouku _needs a Shinigami with twice the strength of a Captain to rouse it from its dormant state." Lilinette looked at him with a taciturn expression as he continued. "Does that mean that an Arrancar can harness that power now? Or has it finally awoken fully?"

He looked at her with intense eyes but she rolled hers.

"I dunno how the thing works," she snapped at him. "All I know is that it makes us stronger. Am I getting that food now or what?"

Hisagi frowned slightly for a moment before standing and walking over to the white box with the sushi in it. He turned and extended the food towards her, but his offering was only met with a slightly incredulous look. He stood confused for a second before realizing that there was no way she could eat with her hands bound by the _Sekkiseki _shackles.

"Shit," Hisagi said under his breath.

"You could always feed me?" she said, her tone a perfect mix of sarcasm, playfulness, and mockery. "That would officially make you the world's worst interrogator."

"Shut up," he quipped as he reached into one of the drawers along the face of the nightstand next to the bed. Her eye widened as he pulled a small key out from the cabinet.

"You kept the keys _right next to me?"_she asked as he leaned over and grabbed one of her wrists. "That's pretty ballsy, Shuuhei."

"If you'd been in a position to reach them, we wouldn't be here now," he shot back at her. He placed the key into the lock hole and stopped, his small black irises trained on her face. "Don't try anything stupid once I take these off," he said. "I don't want to regret being nice to you, Arrancar."

"The offer to feed me still stands, Shinigami," she said with a smirk, the tone now a little more playful than sarcastic.

"You wish."

He twisted the key within the lock and pulled open the shackle, exposing the slender wrist within. He reached across her and repeated the action with the other arm and stepped back as she rubbed gingerly at her forearms. She looked up at him for a moment, her eyes drifting down to see that his left hand was resting on the scabbard of his blade, his thumb on the guard and ready to unlock the katana. She smirked and opened the box, her pink eye lighting up at the selection of food in front of her.

"Eh?" she groaned jokingly, her face turning up to Hisagi's and souring playfully. "No _uni_?"

"Shut up and be grateful that you're eating at all," he quipped, a rare smile coming over his face.

Lilinette dug into her food, voraciously stuffing the pieces of raw fish and rice into her mouth. Hisagi relaxed as she ate, reaching back and grabbing the chair before dragging it closer to the side of the bed. He sat down and watched the Arrancar in silence for a few minutes, wondering if he could get away with allowing her to remain unshackled. As long as he kept an eye on her, it probably wouldn't be much of a problem. After all, if they could trust Grimmjow to walk around Seireitei unsupervised, surely this little girl wouldn't be too much of a problem.

Hisagi's mind drifted off to the team in Hueco Mundo. He hadn't heard a thing about them since the beginning of their mission. With the Espada in possession of the _hogyouku, _he had a feeling that Renji's team would be given a run for their money. He just hoped that they were all right.

"So," Lilinette asked as she chewed through some fish, her small finger tapping her own cheek as she looked at his. "What's with the tattoo? The numbers?"

"Why?" Hisagi really had no desire to discuss the _69_ on his cheek. The tattoo seemed to bring him more and more bad conversation the longer he had them. And he _really _didn't want to be called sexy-cheeks again. Ever.

"Because I've seen it before," she replied her mouth still full. "Do they mean anything?"

Hisagi's face fell as his brow furrowed. There was no way she had just said that. He only knew of one other person with these two numbers on his body. "Where have you seen this tattoo before?"

Her eyebrow creased a bit as she swallowed the food in her mouth before a look of recognition crossed her face. She shook her head slowly and rolled her eye – she almost looked apologetic.

"Remember how I said that you Shinigami were clever?" she asked, the pause in her sentence punctuated by the sound of breaking glass from the front of the Shop.

"Looks like I was wrong."

* * *

_**author's note**_

_the way i figure it, if i leave you guys to wait a long time for an update, then i should give you a long chapter in return. this one totalled about 8000 words; hope i'm forgiven._

_anyhoo, shit's poppin off now. get ready for your 7th inning strerch, cause the rest of this is gonna be nutso. or so i'm told by those in the know._

_thanks to__**jazzpha**__once more for reading this over and pointing out a few of my mess-ups. also thanks to__**matsumama**__for being hilariously supportive. go read and review their stuff - it'll be worth the time, trust me._

_also, thanks to all the people who have been__**reviewing**__up until now. your kind words make the world go 'round. also, feel free to__**review**__some more. :p_

_gots stacks as tall as the wall is,_

_jta!_

_**weeping wall - david bowie**_


	18. Batucada

_**Batucada**_

Retsu had always felt slightly unnerved around Hirako Shinji. Even when they had been at their closest, the two of them meeting in secret under dark skies all those years ago, she had still felt as though she had been looking into the eyes of a tightly coiled viper. Some would say that this sense of danger that drifted around Shinji like a faint cloud was part of his allure. Even Retsu had thought those same things back when she had been his lover – the tingle of fear that he planted in her chest every time she saw him had lured her to him like a bee to a flower. She had a feeling that perhaps all of his acquaintances had felt the same way upon meeting him for the first time. He was devilish and frightening and would charm you until you loved him.

Or, at least, he used to be that way.

Now that same sense of danger that wafted around the Vizard inspired nothing but pure discomfort. There was no longer any allure in Hirako Shinji; all of his attraction had vanished and had been replaced by a crushing feeling of dread.

Unohana walked ahead of him as they entered her flower gardens, the noontime sun that was bathing Soul Society causing her plant's colors to shine vibrantly. While her flowers normally filled her mind with tranquility, Shinji's presence was becoming far too oppressive for her to ignore. When he had first arrived, she had been overwhelmed with emotions. She was relieved to see her old lover alive; she was repulsed at the sight of him after his inaction during the War; she was remorseful at the thought of their shared past and their possible futures.

Now, however, the cloud of confusion had lifted and the only emotion that he filled her with was dread.

"Excuse me, Hirako," she said with a smile that was far more polite than she wanted to give, "I need to tend to a certain rosebush that been giving me some trouble lately."

It was a lie, but she needed to put some distance between the two of them. She fought the urge to keep her eyes on him and turned away, her feet now landing softly on the dirt to the left of the walkway they had been sharing. She could feel his eyes on her as she walked deeper into the garden, her movements well practiced as she slid gracefully between the plants. Time felt like it was slowing down as the distance between grew. Her body was tensing up, the muscles in her hand tightening as she gripped _Minazuki._

She made it to about halfway to the bush before his voice froze her in her tracks.

"What's botherin' ya, Retsu?"

It wasn't a question. He knew the answer long before he'd said anything. Now he was trying to ignite the flame that would set her off. She clutched her zanpakuto and turned towards him, no longer bothering to don a fake smile.

"Why do you ask?" she asked, her voice tinged with an uncharacteristic edge.

"Cuz you seem a little tense," he replied, taking a slow step off of the brick path and into the dirt. "I was just wondering if it was because of me."

Unohana stepped back as he slinked forward through the bushes, her teeth clenching at the cowardly act her body made. The movement wasn't committed so much out of fear than in an instinctual act of self-preservation. He saw her subtle retreat and smiled in that Hirako Shinji way, her bones turning to ice under her skin at the sight of his bright white teeth. She didn't want him to think she was afraid of him – she _wasn't. _He just made her feel like slime was coursing through her veins, like…

"It's almost as if…" he continued as she came back to the present, his devious grin widening. "…As if you don't trust me anymore, Retsu."

"Should I trust you?" she asked, her thumb inching forward slightly to rest on the guard of her sword. With an almost unnoticed movement, she pushed the digit forward and unlocked her blade from its sheath.

Shinji's smile vanished and he stopped in his tracks, his white shoes planting themselves into the soil below. His upper lip arched back up slightly, his mouth now a cross between a snarl and a sneer as his eyes narrowed and darted down to _Minazuki. _His own left hand tightened on the sword that it was holding as he made eye contact with her once more.

"I guess not," he said with a deadly tone.

His right hand reached down to grip the handle of his zanpakuto as the tearing sound of a _garganta _reached their ears.

* * *

Renji stomped his way through the empty halls of Las Noches, once more pissed that Kensei had made him look like an ass. This whole mission had been a cluster-fuck from the beginning and it certainly didn't help that his leadership was constantly being challenged. After falling into the Espada's trap, being ambushed by the pair of _Vasto Lorde _in the Forest of Menos, and nearly losing half of his team, Renji was tired of looking like a complete and total failure.

"Renji!" Rukia's voice floated to him. She sounded distant as his angry thoughts managed to turn the majority of his surroundings into white noise. Renji turned his head and looked over his shoulder, his pace only slowing once he noticed her struggling to catch up to him. He stopped and waited, noting the angry look in her eye as she closed the distance between them.

"What the hell was that?" she asked as she approached, her violet eyes wide in anger. "We were supposed to go in teams, you dumbass. You can't just storm off like that."

"Sorry," he said through his teeth as she finally reached his side, her arms crossing over her chest as she continued to glare at him. "I figured you would be a little faster than that."

"Don't you _dare _give me that bullshit," she snapped, her hands shooting to her hips instantly. "Something is obviously bugging you and you're taking it out on me."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Renji hissed as he turned back around and continued to march swiftly along the pathway.

"I already told you not to give me that attitude," she said as she stalked after him. "I've known since you we were kids, Renji. I _know_when you're pissed about something."

"Nothing is wrong," he growled, turning another corner and leading the two of them deeper into the heart of _Las Noches. _"And even if something _was_wrong, it wouldn't be any of your goddamn business!"

"Renji!" she yelled.

That was a lie. The true crux of his fury came at him being embarrassed in front of Rukia. No matter what he ever did, he always failed when he tried to do something for her. And he was getting fucking _sick _of it.

"Renji!" She had stopped chasing him. Her voice was deadly.

Renji continued forward, his pace remaining constant, his head fighting the urge to turn back at the sound of his name. The only thing that could make him feel any worse was getting into an argument about his feelings for the girl – _with _the girl – only to have to lie and continue to bottle up his already thickly compacted emotions.

"Renji," she called out once more, but her voice was much softer than before. "Renji, please come back?"

He stopped cold at the pleading tones in her words. His head turned slowly as his dark eyes drifted back to his oldest friend. She stood still, her arms crossed gently over her body, her hands cupping her elbows. Her vibrant irises were cast down slightly and she shifted her weight from side to side. He slowly turned his body towards her as she looked up from the white floor and into his eyes.

"Renji," she said, softly stepping toward him. "It's because of me, isn't it?"

The tattooed Shinigami's mind exploded within his skull, his countless thoughts raining down like a fireworks shower before leaving a blank space. He had no idea what to say to her. For once, he was given the opportunity to come clean about _everything – _and his mind had turned to stone. He tried to speak, but his tongue was heavy in his mouth. Rukia continued her slow walk forward and he felt his lower jaw begin to quiver slightly in anticipation.

"Rukia, I…" he began, his voice cutting off as she stood toe-to-toe with him. "I…"

A massive wave of dark _reiatsu _suddenly blanketed them, the spiritual energy flooding the entire hallway with an oppressive weight. Renji heard Rukia gasp in surprise before he noticed that his own breath had been squeezed from his lungs. His knees threatened to buckle under him as the pressure seemed to increase slightly and the edges of his vision began to grow hazy and dark.

Suddenly the crushing feeling ceased to exist, leaving both Renji and his lieutenant to catch their breaths in peace. Rukia looked up at him with a shaken expression, her eyes slightly wider than normal.

"Who the hell was that?" she asked, her voice trembling in fatigue.

"Ulquiorra," Renji said in shock, hoping that his voice had refrained from quaking. He had fought alongside the green-eyed Arrancar in dozens of battles and could readily recognize the signature _reiatsu._

_"Ulquiorra?" _Rukia gasped. "What the hell is he doing here? Isn't he with Ichigo and Captain Hisagi in the living world?"

"I don't know," he replied as he began to quickly walk forward, his legs carrying him further into the palace. "Maybe the team from Karakura has managed to infiltrate Hueco Mundo and come to our aid."

"How would they have made it through the _garganta_ barrier?" Rukia asked as she followed her oldest friend. "Grimmjow and those Kensei couldn't figure it out."

"I have no clue," he replied as he rounded another corner. "Maybe Captain Kurotsuchi found a way to get thr—"

Renji's voice stopped in his throat as his feet slid to a grinding halt on the white tiles below. He heard Rukia gasp, but once more his racing mind had converted every ambient sound into static. Standing in front of the two Shinigami, their bodies lined up in a crisp, white phalanx, was Rudobón and his army of Exequias.

And tattooed upon the lead Arrancar's white skull was the black mark of the _Sexta _Espada.

"Welcome, _invasores_," Rudobón said, his deep voice seeping out from behind his expressionless mask. He calmly reached down and across his waist, his black-gloved hand closing upon the handle of his zanpakuto. The platoon of _Calaveras _behind him mimicked his movements, each one drawing a blade in perfect unison.

"Shall we continue this from where we left off?"

"_Shit!" _Renji hollered as he lunged forward, slinging _Zabimaru _forward in an attempt to prevent the Arrancar in front of him from releasing his zanpakuto. Within seconds the whip-like sword rocketed across the room, the sharpened picks glinting under the lights that adorned the ceiling.

In a move that was almost too fast for him to see, one of the _Calaveras _broke from the formation in a buzz of _sonido_ and appeared alongside the flying blade. With movements that looked entirely effortless, the faceless soldier swung his _katana_ forward into the Shinigami's zanpakuto. The one-handed strike sent the fully extended _Zabimaru _flailing away from its intended target, the head-blade stabbing into the floor and sticking there. Before Renji could even attempt to retract his weapon, the Arrancar vanished and reappeared directly in front of him, his own sword screaming down at the captain's neck.

In a flash of snowy white, Kuchiki Rukia intercepted the attack with her zanpakuto. The pale blade of _Sode no Shirayuki _was grinding against the katana of the Arrancar, the girl's sword trembling slightly as the member of the Exequias applied pressure against her.

"My soldiers have grown infinitely stronger since the last time we crossed paths, as I'm sure you can see," Rudobón said from across the room, his hand tilting his zanpakuto horizontally in the air as his minion retreated from his clash with the female Shinigami. "And now I shall show you the grandest army in all of existence.

"Grow, _Árbol."_

Renji and Rukia stared in horrified awe as the branches of Rudobón's _resurrección_grew and grew, each of the bone-white limbs stretching up to the ceiling, each of the roots creeping across the floor until they began to climb the walls. The massive ivory tree towered over the two Shinigami, the Arrancar looking miniature among the branches of his augmented release.

With a chuckle, the fruits of Rudobón's branches began to stir as dozens of _Calaveras _began to grow.

* * *

_Shit._

Shunsui immediately bolted from the halls of the seventh division, both of _Katen Kyoukotsu's _large scimitars at the ready as he ran towards the sound of an explosion from the grounds next door. _His _division.

He had been right in assuming that an invading Arrancar would attempt to take out the strongest captains first; switching with Captain Komamura had been a good idea. His desire to retain close proximity to his division was proving to be a good decision. Unfortunately, he feared that even at this close of a distance, he wouldn't be fast enough. Shunsui had assumed that leaving the massive Shinigami in charge of his division would have been the perfectly fine; Komamura was insanely strong, even by captain's standards.

But Shunsui should have expected _him _to show up.

As he burst through the doors and reached the first courtyard of his division, Captain Kyoraku's vision filled with a gargantuan black samurai, the cyclopean giant towering above the rooftops as it rose into the midday skies. Shunsui frowned as he continued to run through his division; for Komamura to have pulled _Kokujou Tengen Myo'ou _out this early in battle meant that things were not going to be smooth for the fox-faced captain.

_Hold on, Sajin, _he thought to himself as he ran, his eyes fixed upon the armored monster in sky above him. _Just hold on._

Komamura's _bankai _suddenly raised its hand, bringing the colossal falchion it held up to almost touch the clouds above. A dark crimson energy began to pulse about the blade as it glinted in the sunlight. As Shunsui rounded the last curve into the division's main piazza, the gigantic sword came crashing down at an incredible speed, sending a plume of rubble and debris in every direction.

Shunsui was sent stumbling backwards. He was absolutely shocked – he had never seen Komamura use such a technique before. The sheer power of the attack was breathtaking in its own right, but the thing that had truly amazed him was the _speed _in which the giant _bankai _had moved. For such a fantastically large behemoth, its attack had been a screaming blur of crimson that moved so fast that Shunsui had barely even seen it.

As the smoke cleared, however, his feelings of amazement quickly turned to dread. Standing in the center of a massive crater caused by Komamura Sajin's powerful attack, was the _Primera _Espada, Coyote Stark.

And in the Arrancar's bare hand was the enormous blade of _Kokujou Tengen Myo'ou._

The two Shinigami captains stood in complete amazement as Stark casually – _lazily_ – moved the massive weapon in his hand so that it no longer hovered above his head before allowing the sword to fall to the earth below with a thunderous crash. Slowly, the Espada reached down and slid his blade from its scabbard, the yellow handle almost indistinguishable from his glove in the bright daylight. And then Komamura suddenly fell to the ground, crimson blood gushing from his now opened belly as Stark walked leisurely towards Shunsui. The Shinigami stared wide-eyed as his fellow soul reaper lay on the floor in a puddle of his own viscera.

"Ah, Mr. Captain," the _Primera _said with a sluggish voice and a faint smile, causing Shunsui to snap out of his trance. "What a pleasure to see you again."

* * *

Hisagi's mind was flat-lining as Lilinette's words settled in his brain. There was no way that she was telling the truth – that the Vizards were conspiring _with_the Arrancar was unthinkable. While the Gotei had held doubts about aligning themselves with the hybrid Shinigami, never in a million years would any of them have guessed that their new allies were in league with the Espada.

And yet this is exactly what the young Arrancar in front of him had just implied.

_Muguruma… Kensei… _Hisagi managed to think through the fog that was churning inside of his head. _Betrayed us?_

The sound of a shattering window immediately cleared his thoughts as he snapped his head around, the feeling of a familiar _reiatsu_reaching his senses from the front of the house. He stepped forward and slid the door open, the wooden slider clashing against the opposite wall with a loud clack.

"Hey!" Lilinette snapped, "Where do you think you're going? Unlock my legs you—"

Hisagi spun around and faced her, the glare he delivered silencing the girl immediately. "Don't you _fucking_ move, Espada."

The captain of the ninth division turned once more and sprinted out of the room, hurriedly making his way along the labyrinth of wooden floors in the back of the Urahara Shop. He could feel the tensions rising from the main room as a silent clash of spiritual pressure surged out of the two combatants ahead. Hisagi could clearly recognize one of the _reiatsu, _but the other was foreign to him. It somehow felt familiar, but it was still nameless as the energy signature pressed against his senses. One final hallway and he was out in the main room of the Urahara Shop, arriving just in time to cover his eyes from a blinding red light.

"Sing, _Benihime!"_

In a flash, the face of the building exploded outward into the street as a scythe of crimson energy sliced a swath into the asphalt. Urahara Kisuke stood emotionless as he pointed his deadly zanpakuto forward, his steely eyes focused into the cloud of dirt. As the debris settled, Hisagi saw Ichigo and Yumichika emerge from the sushi bar across the street, their souls already having popped out of their _gigai. _They rushed forward and across the street, Yumichika's zanpakuto already splitting into four blades as he ran.

With a buzz, Sarugaki Hiyori appeared with her back turned to the two Shinigami inside the building, choosing instead to address the pair that was approaching the ruined façade of the Urahara Shop.

"Oi, Ichigo," she said, her arms crossed over her chest as her horned mask formed over her face. "This fight doesn't concern you. You should—"

"_Getsuga_…" Ichigo said, rearing his arms back as a black energy began to swirl around his blade. "_Tenshou!_"

The attack had barely left the tip of his blade before Hiyori appeared directly in front of the Shinigami, her free hand casually slapping the powerful attack off to the right before pointing her zanpakuto at Ichigo's shocked face.

"As I was _saying,"_she said, her black and gold eyes narrowing slightly. "This isn't your fight, Ichigo. Yours is somewhere else."

"Inoue!" Ichigo gasped immediately, his body turning to leave. "Yumichika, follow me!"

"Fuck that," Yumichika snapped, his violet eyes focused harshly on the female Vizard in front of him. "I'm gonna stay here and fight thi—"

"Goddammit Lieutenant that is an _order!"_

Yumichika looked at Ichigo with mild surprise for a second, skeptically regarding the panicked look in the captain's eyes before turning his body to follow him. The two Shinigami vanished with a whisper as Hiyori turned her attention back to the shop.

Hisagi Shuuhei was already there, his zanpakuto mere inches away from her throat as he charged forward.

In another flash of red, the tattooed Shinigami flew backwards and into the Urahara Shop, his chest smoking from the heat of the _bala._

"Don't tell me I had to save your ass there," Apache said snarkily as she appeared next to the Vizard, "Hiyori."

"Please," Hiyori quipped. "But now that you're here, feel free to take care of him while I finish things with Urahara."

Apache snickered before vanishing in a burst of _sonido, _reappearing directly above the Urahara Shop, her fist striking into the air. What had seemed like empty sky suddenly distorted as Hisagi slid into sight, his _shunpo _carrying him directly into her punch. He staggered backwards slightly before regaining his composure and lashing out with his unreleased blade. Apache managed to dodge the quick attack, but the empty sleeve that hung loosely from her left shoulder found itself quickly severed from the rest of her white uniform.

"I don't know what you're thinking, Espada," Hisagi said harshly, "but there is no way you're gonna beat me with only one arm."

The raven-haired Arrancar scoffeded before flicking her wrist forward, the thick bracelet snapping off and becoming a three-bladed _chakram_.

"You must not remember me, Shinigami," Apache said. "Allow me to refresh that memory.

"Thrust, _Cierva!"_

It didn't take Hisagi long to recognize the girl as the smoke from her release cleared; the antlers and the brown fur were more than enough to give her away. Regardless, her _resurrección_didn't bring her arm back, so he found himself smirking at the girl.

"I remember you now," he said. "You're one of the girls that Captain Yamamoto killed, aren't you? I'm surprised you survived – it seems that your partners did not."

"Those bitches?" Apache asked derisively, causing Hisagi's eyes to widen slightly. "I never much liked them anyway. Besides, they were only good for one thing; and I don't even need them for that anymore."

"Eh?"

"Let me explain something to you, Shinigami," she said as her missing arm began to freely drip with blood. "When we Arrancar were re-exposed to the _hogyouku,_our overall abilities grew exponentially stronger."

Hisagi's eyes darted down to the bleeding stump, noting how quickly the scarlet liquid seemed to be pouring from her wound.

"But that doesn't simply include our speed and strength," she continued as she raised the appendage up into the air, seemingly oblivious to the quantities of blood that were now gushing from it. "It improved _everything, _even our special abilities; when I say that I no longer need Sun-sun or Mila Rose, I was _dead_ fuckin' serious."

The blood suddenly stopped falling, but not from its source. The stump continued to pour downward, but the crimson waterfall itself had begun to defy gravity and pool in the middle of the air. Before long, a miniature lake of red had collected, silently sloshing in the sky. Apache grinned maliciously as the bleeding ceased and she spoke out the lonely command:

"_Chimera Parca."_

Hisagi's eyes widened in shock as the floating pool began to writhe and wriggle at the command, the beast within it struggling to emerge. Remembering the complete thrashing that this monster had given him the last time he'd encountered it, the Shinigami leapt back as far as he could and held his zanpakuto out in front of himself.

"Reap, _Kazeshini_!"

Hisagi had just barely been able to release when Allon appeared directly in front of the Shinigami, the monster's fist plunging downward and into him. After a feeble block, Hisagi found himself careening towards the earth below, his body crashing through the roof and floor of the Urahara Shop before plunging all the way down to the rocky ground of the basement level.

Hisagi hardly had time to recover when the _Novena_Espada and her gargantuan "pet" both appeared in front of him.

"And since I've got stronger," Apache said with a smirk, "Allon's gotten stronger, too."

* * *

_**author's note**_

_i know i know. i'm sorry._

_this semester has been whoopin' my ass for the past month, so you'll have to forgive me tardiness in updating. FORTUNATELY, next week is my finals week. and after that i have 17 days in which i plan on finishing this bad boy up with._

_so anyhoo._

_the beginning of the end here, kiddies. home stretch._

_big thanks to all my__**review**__ers for the kind words, and big thanks to all the people who have been +faving me (feel free to__**review**__as well, :p)_

_also, big thanks to__**jazzpha**__for TAKING UP EVERY GODDAMNED MINUTE OF MY FREE-TIME TO BETA HIS STORY. it's called TORN and it's REALLY GOOD GO READ IT__**.**_

_ಠ_____ಠ_

_jta~_


	19. A Shot of Crisis

_**A Shot of Crisis**_

Ikkaku couldn't even remember which division he was supposed to be patrolling anymore. The very moment he'd felt the unmistakable presence of the invading Espada, he'd launched himself out into the streets of Seireitei in search of something to kill. His white _haori _fluttered silently as his bare feet carried him swiftly through the streets of _Seireitei, _his keen eyes searching for any sort of movement in the skies above him.

_Damn Arrancar, _he thought as he rounded a corner, another empty corridor coming into his sights. _They just _love _keeping themselves airborne._

While quite proficient at aerial combat, Ikkaku despised it. He thought it was an amateurish way to fight, the way that each combatant had three axes to move around in. Too much dodging, in his opinion; Madarame Ikkaku preferred to go head-to-head with his opponents. The more attacks he was able to connect the better. One of the more prevalent ideals found within the eleventh division was that 'a battle isn't a battle without bloodshed'. And his division held true to this motto, even if the spilled blood was their own.

Ikkaku was pretty sure that it would make Zaraki Kenpachi proud.

His current frustrations didn't quite come down to air or ground battle, however. His other huge – and ever-present – complaint about Arrancar was now being brought to the fore: _why_, despite having initiated the upcoming skirmish, did these Espada make themselves hard to find? The concept was completely foreign to him; if he was attempting to overthrow his enemy's headquarters, he would barge in and immediately start kicking ass and taking names.

"And here I am," he grumbled to himself as he entered an empty courtyard, the tiles reflecting the noontime sun, "running my ass off and looking for some cowardly –"

His words stopped in his throat as the wall nearest to him exploded into the piazza. Ikkaku immediately launched himself into a front-flip, his eyes widening as a blue ribbon of light flashed in front of his face. He landed and on his feet, his zanpakuto already unsheathed as he looked forward into the wreckage of the courtyard. He could see a few motionless bodies in the thick smoke, his small pupils peering through the debris and straining against the bright daylight.

Blood began trickling from his forehead down into his right eye, causing him to blink hard against the sudden sting that swirled in his head.

_Damn, _he thought as he reached down to dab his finger into the medicine he kept hidden in his zanpakuto's base, his hands moving in practiced movements as his eyes remained focused on the clearing smoke in front of him. _I guess that attack did get me._

Ikkaku's thumb briefly rubbed in the solution, scooping up a glob of the stuff, before he brought it back up to close the wound above his eyebrow. He felt a slight sting as the numbing agents began to work their way into the thin slice on his forehead, his eyes twitching shut as he applied pressure.

He barely had time to block the strike.

His eyes had opened just in time to see the Arrancar's wide blade screaming downwards at his chest. His well-honed defenses had saved him, his arm bringing his zanpakuto up to block the attack before his mind had even registered the movement. He was forced backwards by the strength of the blow, his calloused feet skidding painlessly across the stones as he dropped himself into a defensive pose.

"Impressive reflexes, Shinigami," said the Arrancar, her authoritative voice barely muffled by the high collar she wore over her mouth. "I hadn't assumed that you'd be able to block that attack."

"You were waiting for me to tend to my wound before attacking?" Ikkaku asked with in surprise. "That's awfully mischievous of ya."

"Am I incorrect in assuming you would do the same?" She asked back, her turquoise eyes glaring into his. "That you wouldn't take advantage of such a fortuitous opening?"

"Oh, no," he said as his smirk widened into a maniacal grin. "I'm actually quite impressed."

Ikkaku suddenly vanished in a burst of _shunpo, _appearing in the air immediately behind his opponent as he slammed the base of his zanpakuto against the tip of the scabbard.

"Grow, _Hoozukimaru!"_

Halibel was now the one to find herself on the sudden defense, her hollowed blade arcing upwards to barely block the broad slash that rocketed downwards from her opponent's _shikai._The spear clashed against her zanpakuto with a surprising amount of force, the sharpened edge of her _Tiburón _doing nothing against the wooden shaft that was pressing against it. She slid back almost a foot before finding her balance and planting her feet. She swiped forward with her blade, causing Ikkaku to leap backwards, his nimble body flipping backwards in the air before landing delicately on one foot.

"Impressive reflexes, Arrancar," Ikkaku said, mocking his opponent as he put his second foot on the ground. "But I was actually _hoping_ that you would be able to block that one."

"Hoping, you say?" she asked as her opponent began to spin his spear around above his head. "Wouldn't you rather kill me quickly?"

"Hell no!" Ikkaku said with a barking laugh. "What's the fun in killing an opponent before you've actually fought them?"

Her blonde eyebrows tightened. "You value the fight over the victory?" she asked skeptically.

"I value the fight over everything else," he replied as he ceased the spinning of his weapon, dropping it down to rest in the crook of his elbow. "Compared to a great battle, everything else is meaningless."

"How foolish," she said shortly. "I'll make you regret your priorities."

She rushed at him, her broad blade swinging in a wide arc. To her surprise, he leapt directly into her attack, the shaft of his spear crashing against her blade with a loud _clack. _The wooden shaft slid along the edge of her sword, the distance between her body and his deadly blade diminishing with frightening speed. She spun her torso to the left at the last second, avoiding a potentially deadly strike, before coming back with another slash.

Ikkaku ducked the attack, his body hitting the ground as the blade sliced through the air harmlessly. He kicked out with his leg, his limb making a broad sweeping motion as he swept Halibel's legs out from under her. She fell backwards almost immediately as both of her feet left the ground, giving him the time to regain his footing and launch another attack. He lifted the spear over his head and swung down with all of his might, the blade at the end of the wooden shaft aimed directly for his opponent's exposed stomach.

Halibel was gone, vanishing in a buzz of _sonido _before her body had even hit the stone tiles below. She reappeared behind Ikkaku, her blade pointing at the back of his bald head from a few feet away. With a quick movement, she thrust it forward as a blue bolt of energy shot forth.

"_Projectile Azúl."_

The attack shot forth at lightning speed, causing Ikkaku to twist his body around in an impossible angle so that the blue bullet would miss his torso. Halibel wasted little time as she rushed forward, her blade now swinging down from the sky as she attempted to cleave her opponent in half. Ikkaku leapt into the air once more, his body spinning away from his attacker as he placed several yards between the two of them.

"See?" he asked, almost teasingly. "Aren't you glad I left you alive?"

"Impertinence is quite an unsightly trait for a captain," Halibel quipped with irritation. "I no longer see any reason to keep you alive."

"Is that so?" He asked, his defense dropping as he stood straight up. "Does that mean you'll release your _resurrección_ for me?"

"You wish to see my released form?" she asked, her hand tightening on the grip of her sword. "How absurd. You wouldn't last even a second were I to release."

"You Arrancar are so _arrogant," _Ikkaku said with a chuckle.

"No," she shot back, her body sliding backwards into attack position. "We're just superior to you."

Ikkaku grinned widely as he prepared himself for the clash. "Watch out for it."

Halibel didn't ask what _it _was. She simply rushed forward, her deadly blade lunging forward as she approached her Shinigami opponent. He darted forward as well, his long spear swinging to the inside of her sword. She quickly altered her trajectory as she saw his counter-attack unfold, bringing her blade inwards before clashing with his weapon in an outward swing. She now found herself on the inside of his defenses, her blade running along the inside if his spear, its deadly edge sliding down to his open chest.

_Hoozukimaru's _blade raked itself across her face, slicing away the white collar that covered her mouth before biting into the bone mask that took up the majority of her face.

Halibel leapt backwards in surprise and pain as her shirt slumped in tatters over her chest. The spear's tip had cleaved a small chunk of her mask away, leaving the left side of her mouth bloody and exposed. Ikkaku laughed lightly before he began spinning his now tri-sectioned staff in each of his hands.

"I told you to watch out for it."

Halibel stood from kneeling, the freshly exposed left side of her mouth curving upwards in a slight sneer, the crimson blood staining her ivory teeth.

"You said that the Arrancar were the arrogant ones," she said venomously. "Yet your obvious pride seems to overwhelm your words. Allow me to devour your conceit with the _resurrección _you were so anxious to see."

She pointed her blade forward at Ikkaku, a wave of water like _reiatsu_appearing behind her as he smirked in obvious pleasure.

"Attack, _Tiburón."_

The small tsunami crashed around her body, enveloping her inside of an opaque sphere of blue. Ikkaku leapt back and onto one of the tiled rooftops that surrounded the small courtyard. His smile faltered a fraction as her spiritual power shot forth like a solid wall, and he readied himself for the attack.

Halibel broke out from the giant ball of water, her lithe body crashing outwards in a massive wave, her enormous sword aimed directly for Ikkaku's gut. He was able to spin out of the way, but not without allowing his ribcage to remain wide open. Halibel's tanned leg swung out as she passed him, her armored shin planting itself into his side. With a grunt, the Shinigami captain flew backwards and into a nearby wall, his lungs struggling to take in air after the painful attack.

"_Shit_," he coughed out as blood speckled his lips. "You weren't kidding about doin' some damage in that form."

"Once more you've surprised me," Halibel retorted with subtle malice. "I had not expected you to dodge my sword."

"Sorry to exceed your expectations," he said as he stepped back into a squatting posture. "But I ain't done yet."

His _reiatsu _exploded and materialized into a column of crimson light, causing Halibel to squint her eyes slightly against it. She readied herself as the energy levels grew; it had been a while since she'd faced an opponent that could actually _force_ her to release her _resurrección._The last thing she wanted was to be caught off guard.

Still, she had not been prepared for the sight of the Shinigami's _bankai._

"_Bankai," _Ikkaku said with an air of reverence as the massive weapon hung ominously over his shoulders. "_Ryuumon Hoozukimaru."_

"This is your _bankai?" _Halibel asked as she looked at one of the few blades that actually dwarfed her own. "You Shinigami certainly are diverse with your weapons."

"You'll find that my _bankai _is _quite _different from Captain Hitsugaya's," Ikkaku quipped, "Halibel."

She wanted to ask him how she knew of her battle with the young Shinigami, or how he knew her name, but she didn't have the time. He'd already launched himself at her with incredible speed, the quickness of his movements surprising her; for such a lean person, he moved as though his gargantuan weapon weighed practically nothing.

Halibel blocked as one of the giant spades swung at her, her large white blade shuddering in her hand against the strike. She placed her free hand against the backside of her sword to reinforce the block, but she found herself grimacing as the giant blade began to dig itself into her defense, the white sword splintering slightly under his onslaught. She leapt away and into the air, her feet skidding to a stop along the top of a nearby building.

"You know," Ikkaku said as he gripped the central blade of his three-piece weapon, "I used to have to wake this lazy asshole up every time I wanted to go _bankai; _for some reason he just never wanted to get up and fight."

Halibel looked on with apparent indifference as the small dragon crest upon his zanpakuto began to glow bright red.

"But I think," he continued, "that I've found a way to wake his ass up right away."

As he finished his speech, Ikkaku leapt forward to attack with the massive middle blade, the sharpened edge sending the Shinigami plummeting down towards his opponent. He'd moved so swiftly that Halibel hadn't even had time to get out of the way; Ikkaku's attack was headed directly for the female Espada.

His attack stopped in mid air.

Ikkaku looked onward in shock as the massive axe halted in his hands, the tip of Halibel's enormous blade jutting through from the other side and pointing directly at his face. _Hoozukimaru's_blade was beginning to crack in fine lines around the point of penetration, his _bankai_weakening as his opponent stood stoically on the other side of the black weapon. He looked over the crest of his blade to see her turquoise eyes regarding him with scorn, her lips curving in a small snarl as she began to speak.

"_La Gota."_

Ikkaku saw the wave of blue water form along her blade, splitting his entire zanpakuto in half, before the attack slammed into his chest and everything went dark.

* * *

Soi Fon flashed forward as she followed Grimmjow through the empty desert of _Las Noches. _At first she had been taken aback by the appearance of daylight, but the massive hole in the ceiling had revealed the sunlight to be nothing but a mirage, so she hadn't spoken much of it. In fact, she hadn't spoken a word since Ulquiorra had issued forth his silent challenge to the intruding Shinigami.

She had no idea where she was going, but Grimmjow was unwavering in his movement ahead of her. While she would sometimes find herself at odds with his desire to launch himself into disastrous circumstances, she couldn't find a reason to try and slow him down now; he and Ulquiorra had formed a bond over the past couple of decades. She couldn't even begin to imagine the emotions that were filling him right now. So she followed him, hoping to catch some sort of explanation when they arrived at their destination.

They crossed over the dunes for a few more minutes before she noticed that they were approaching the center of the palace. A quintet of white spires were directly ahead of them, each of the minarets stretching upwards and into the blue sky above. Soi Fon could tell that all of the other towers were surrounding this place and, with a small sense of disgust, she realized that they were headed towards the throne room of _Las Noches._

A massive _cero _tore through the air, the crimson beam eclipsing Grimmjow from her sights.

Soi Fon stopped just in time, the heat from the ray warming her face as it roared past her. When the attack had vanished beyond them, she could see that Grimmjow had stopped as well, his blue eyes wide as he looked at her and then towards the unseen attacker. Soi Fon followed his gaze only to stand in shock as she looked upon the Arrancar that had tried to kill them.

She had killed this man before.

Yammy Rialgo stood to their right, a broad grin painting his tan face with a streak of white. His eyes slowly trailed from her to Grimmjow as he reached down and gripped the zanpakuto that was at his waist.

"Yammy," Grimmjow hissed out from her left.

"Yo," the massive Espada chortled as he approached them. "Long time no see."

"I heard you were dead," the blue-haired Arrancar spat as he reached for his own blade. Soi Fon couldn't help but notice that Grimmjow looked on edge.

"Did you _really _think that I could have been killed so easily?"

"Not really," Grimmjow said, "but it wouldn't have surprised me if you had."

"Oh yeah?" Yammy began to pull the blade from its scabbard. "How sweet."

"Grimmjow," Soi Fon barked, eliciting a look of surprise from her companion. "Go get Ulquiorra. I'll handle this piece of trash."

He stood for a moment, his eyes looking between her and the giant Arrancar. "You sure?"

"I've killed this bastard once already," she replied with a small grin. "I'm pretty sure I can do it again."

"Alright," Grimmjow replied with a sigh, his blue eyes glancing over her in uncharacteristic concern. "Be careful, Soi."

"Don't worry about me," she said and he vanished in a burst of _sonido. _Yammy didn't even try to follow.

"What?" Soi Fon asked as the Arrancar glared at her. "Aren't you supposed to stop us?"

"Not really," he said with a deep growl. "Ulquiorra asked me to come here and split the two of you up."

"Is that so?" Soi asked with a snicker. "Well then…"

In a flash, she was directly in front of Yammy, her blade pulled from the scabbard on her back.

"…I'll just have to play catch-up, won't I?"

She rammed her blade forward, _Suzumebachi_ thrusting into Yammy's gut. Soi Fon let out a gasp of surprise as the zanpakuto stopped against the Arrancar's _hierro_, only the tip having made it inside of him. She looked up at him in shock, her face twisted in anger as he smiled down at her.

"What happened?" he asked with a smile.

Soi Fon leapt backwards as Yammy tightened his grip on the handle of his sword, his already wide grin growing as he yanked it from its scabbard.

"Destroy, _Ira!"

* * *

_

He walked calmly through the large cave, his golden eyes gliding over the souls that he'd locked away. He held no pity for these eternal prisoners; in fact, as a former inmate of the Maggot's Nest, Captain Kurotsuchi Mayuri was more than happy to watch as the masses of the hopeless dragged themselves through each dolorous day. The talented would always find a way to escape their obstacles – bestowing these imprisoned shades with his pity would do little more than waste his time.

While Mayuri had long gone on record as having felt indifference towards his stay in the Maggot's Nest, his true feelings on his incarceration in the underground prison remained as reclusive as the mad-scientist himself did. He had actually enjoyed his time in solitude, the only irritations of his days being when Urahara Kisuke would come down to the end of that dark tunnel and ask his opinion of some nameless experiment. While the advice-giving was a good way for him to keep his mind sharp, he truly despised his warden.

And then, much to his ire, he was set free.

The only emotion that had overtaken his irritation was his raw excitement at the thought of running Soul Society's first haven for the brilliant: the Shinigami Research and Development Institute. To Kurotsuchi Mayuri, all things in existence were practically _nothing_when compared to working and tinkering in a laboratory. This opportunity alone was more than enough to push him towards agreeing to leave his imprisonment.

With the exception of the twelfth division's bratty lieutenant, Mayuri had become surrounded by utter brilliance. He was second only to Urahara Kisuke, but he was more than ready to forcibly place himself at the top of the Institute's ladder. Despite his respect for Urahara's intelligence, Mayuri wasn't above removing the Bureau's founder from his position of power to further advance his own goals. He'd even formulated a plan that would have both tested a new project of his and killed off his captain at the same time.

And then Urahara Kisuke vanished.

Rumors had labeled the blonde-haired scientist as an exile, a criminal, a ghost. Mayuri knew better than to assume that any one of those things was true; despite his own immense level of egoism, the captain of the twelfth division could still respect the intelligence of another genius. If Urahara Kisuke had wanted to remain in Soul Society, Mayuri was completely certain that he would have found a way to do so. Nothing could stop that man from achieving his goals.

He cast his thoughts of the past aside as he reached the second staircase, the stone steps plunging silently into the darkness below. His face created no movement as his vision swept over the entrance to his former home. He found his mind wandering not to the memories of his solitude, but to the despicable man that resided in the only occupied cell below.

A distant explosion caused the earthen room to tremble around him and he immediately turned away from the desolate stair. In an uncharacteristically swift stride, Kurotsuchi Mayuri hurried towards the set of stairs that would lead him out of the Maggot's Nest. He looked upon the prisoners behind the bars and mused merrily at his fortuitous foresight; Mayuri had decided to place all of the prisoners in group cells to prevent any sort of uprising during any possible skirmishes. Another explosion shook the cavern and Mayuri found himself even more pleased with his decision as he noted the wild and chaotic looks that were flashing through each inmate's eyes.

In a sudden burst of light, Mayuri watched as a blood-smeared sword erupted from his chest. His white hand reached up and touched the blade, scarlet liquid running down his pale fingers. His golden eyes widened in shock as he strained to turn his neck back and over his shoulder, his vision tracing the length of blade that stretched from his back and down into the shadows.

"Oh my," came a serpentine voice from the darkness below, "I never thought that it would be _this _easy to get away."

"_Gin," _Mayuri hissed through clenched teeth as his eyes traced down along the extended blade of _Shinsou _and to the grinning man who held the pommel. "How did you escape from that cell?"

"Easily," Gin cooed as he stepped forward, the length of his blade diminishing as he moved closer and closer to his skewered opponent. "I had figured out an escape after only spendin' a year in that hole."

"_But_… _how_?" Mayuri's words came forth as he spat blood and Ichimaru Gin closed the distance between the two of them, the silver-haired Shinigami's sword retracting until the two of them stood almost flesh to flesh.

"Ya seem to forget," Gin sneered as he twisted the blade within his victim's torso, "I was considered a genius long before you were called anythin' more than insane."

With a quick flick of the wrist, Gin slid the blade of his zanpakuto out of Mayuri's back and began to walk away, his ever-smiling face prepared to feel sunlight after twenty-five long years underground. The mad scientist fell to the ground behind him, his body slumping downwards in a pile of black and white, red and purple. Ichimaru's feet had made their first steps towards the marble staircase that lead up to the surface when he stopped in his tracks, a strong _reiatsu _pinning him to the floor.

"_You think that's enough?" _Mayuri's voice seethed out from behind him. "_You think that one little stab is enough to kill _me?"

Gin watched as the madman pushed himself up from the ground, crimson blood pouring from his chest as he erected his fallen body. In an impossibly quick movement, Captain Kurotsuchi's hand shot down to his belt-line, his fist closing upon the zanpakuto that stood rigid from the center of his stomach, and tore it out of its scabbard.

"_Bankai!"_the clown-faced captain snarled as he held his blade forward. "_Konjiki Ashisogi_ _Jizo!"_

The blade slowly began to mutate within the insane professor's hand, silver metal turning into mustard flesh in fluid movements chaotic enough to rival river rapids. As the golden mass continued to expand, its bulbous extensions stretching and inflating in grotesque directions, Gin found himself forced to leap backwards to make room for the wriggling behemoth between himself and Mayuri.

"A genius is made from more than tactical skills, reprobate!" Kurotsuchi barked as he thrust the infantile monster wriggled behind him. "A _true_ genius is prepared for every situation that arises. You can skewer this body of mine more than a thousand times with your zanpakuto and I'll just keep rising from the dead! Let's see if your prodigal talents can serve you in such a manner!"

A small look of distress crossed Gin's face as the madman in front of him thrust his sword forward, the tip pointing directly at him from across the room. The bulbous, baby-faced caterpillar charged forward at the command, its red cape fluttering as its many limbs tore at the rocky floor beneath it. As _Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo_ barged onward, a plethora of spikes erupted from its chest, a deadly bouquet of blades aimed directly for the grinning Shinigami ahead. As the long shadow of the beast swallowed him up, Ichimaru Gin calmly took one step backwards and widened his smile.

"Shoot to kill, _Shinsou."_

The wakizashi's blade shot forward at an obscene speed, almost looking like a single beam of light as it lengthened. The tip of the zanpakuto raced through the air before plunging itself into _Ashisogi Jizo's_mouth, the gaping maw exploding in a shower of blood and slobber and teeth as _Shinsou _erupted out of the beast's back. The blade continued to rocket forward as the behemoth fell, splitting the top of its skull as gravity tore it off of the blade, and hit the ground in a lifeless heap. Clouds of dirt rose from the impact of the massive _bankai _crashing into the earthen floor.

Ichimaru Gin smiled and walked forward through the cloud of dust, _Shinsou _retracting in time with his movement. Ahead of him, silhouetted by the plumes of fine debris, Kurotsuchi Mayuri stood rigidly with his back against the far wall.

The blade of _Shinsou _was lodged in Mayuri's forehead, the zanpakuto pinning him against the stone precipice behind him. Gin could see the mad scientist's eyes swiveling wildly in their sockets, his mouth working as he struggled to breathe or speak – Ichimaru couldn't tell which. As the fox-faced Shinigami drew closer, one of Mayuri's golden irises struggled to rise and meet him as blood began to cover the rest of his face in crimson rivulets.

"Don't look so confused, Captain Kurotsuchi," Gin said softly, his voice perfectly blending together mockery and reverence. "Ya did say that your _body _was invincible, didn't ya?"

Gin pulled the blade out from the wall and let Mayuri's head slide off the sword and crumple to the floor. The silver-haired Shinigami wiped his zanpakuto off slowly as his garnet eyes peered down at the dead man below him. With a small chuckle, Ichimaru Gin slid his zanpakuto into its scabbard and turned away from the bloody corpse. He strolled to the middle of the large room and looked around at all of the prisoners within the cells that lined the walls.

"I think you boys just got yer tickets outta here," Gin said, his ever-present grin widening marginally. "If ya play your cards right, of course."

* * *

_**author's note**_

_hey errybody, sorry for the delay in updates. finals week was a bitch and a half. but two weeks is a lot better than a month, right? right?_

_anyhoo, i'm gonna be in new york city for the next week, so don't expect any updates for a little bit. i'll have a few days before the next semester starts, so i'm going to try and get the next chapter out before then. it's a good next chapter too; i already know what's gonna happen, i just need the time to actually WRITE it. lol._

_shout out to__**jazzpha**__for giving most of this chap a once-over. he's got some pretty baller-ass fics as well, namely__**Torn.**__he just finished that story, so everyone go give it a read._

_also, go read__**matsumama's Nebula.**__if you like urahara and yoruichi, you'll love that fic. actually, if you love good writing, you'll love all of her stuff._

_thanks to everyone that has given me a__**review**__. you guys rock my socks. and of course, the obligitory/ubiquitous__**REVIEW MY SHIT**__thing goes down here. i love__**reviews.**__plz give me moar._

_off to manhattan,_

_jta~!_

_**a shot of crisis - yasonori mitsuda**_


	20. Zaar

_**Zaar**_

Ichigo whispered into existence, his left foot resting on the tiled roof of a hotel just long enough for him to catch his bearings, before he flash-stepped away. Yumichika was still following him. Orihime's house was only a few more _shunpo _bursts away. He could feel the presence of the Arrancar ahead, but no one in the city had raised their _reiatsu; _if anything was going to happen at the Ishida residence, it certainly hadn't happened yet. He was almost there – one more flash-step and—

The sound of the _cero _caused his blood to freeze under his skin.

He erupted out of the _shunpo _to see the smoldering crater where Orihime's house had once stood. A slim Arrancar was standing in front of the flames, his hay colored-hair tinged orange by the inferno that raged behind him, his face turning to greet Ichigo. The black eye-patch mimicked the empty gaze that was held in his singular left eye. He smirked slightly as he saw the Shinigami that had come to him.

Tesla stood calmly, his left hand gripped around the neck of Ishida Orihime.

Ichigo barely heard Yumichika appear next to him. His brown eyes were focused solely on the sunset-haired woman that the Espada was dangling above the ground. Her nimble fingers clawed futilely at the gloved fist that was closed around her neck. Her clothes were burnt, exposing the charred flesh of her legs and stomach. Her soft brown eyes looked at Ichigo frantically, the fear readily apparent in the big orbs.

"You bastard," Ichigo hissed as he pulled the massive blade from his back, the cloth unraveling from around its edge as he leveled it at the Espada. "Put her down."

"It's rather ironic, isn't it?" Tesla said calmly, as though he hadn't even heard the enraged Shinigami speak. "That the three of us would meet again like this?"

"I said put her down!" Ichigo yelled, his hands tightening on _Zangetsu's _cloth-wrapped grip. He heard Yumichika's zanpakuto slide from its sheath to his left, but the sound was distant in his ears. He was too focused on the pleading eyes of his childhood friend as she hung from the end of the Arrancar's outstretched arm, her cheeks turning red from the strain on her neck.

"_Kuro…"_Orihime choked out, her words catching in her throat as Tesla tightened his grip.

"You know…" Tesla began softly as his right hand reached around to the zanpakuto on his lower back, his black-gloved fingers tightening around the grip. "…something I've always wondered…"

"_Kurosaki… kun," _Orihime sputtered as the blade of Tesla's _Verruga _left its sheath, her legs kicking hopelessly in the air beneath her.

"…is why Aizen never…"

"_Let her go!"_

Orihime's chest suddenly exploded outwards in a fountain of crimson blood as Tesla's blade erupted through her sternum. The Arrancar smirked viciously.

"…never decided to eliminate all of Soul Society's healers _first_."

Ichigo bolted forward as Orihime's lifeless corpse fell to its knees, his voice tearing out of him in a bestial roar as Tesla slid the zanpakuto out of her flesh. The Arrancar casually brought his blade up and blocked the strike, Ichigo's monstrous cleaver crashing against _Verruga_in a shower of sparks. The Shinigami's eye glared into that of his opponent's, the hatred in his brown orbs meeting a practically emotionless glare.

"_Getsuga_…" Ichigo snarled as energy began to swell along his blade, "_Tenshou!"_

The blue crescent of energy arced forward at the Arrancar from point blank range. It plowed onward, pushing Tesla backwards as he was forced to hold his block against the powerful attack. With a simple flick of his wrist, however, the _Quinta _Espada slashed the fang of energy in half. As his vision cleared, Tesla saw that Ichigo was already flying towards him in the wake of the attack; the Shinigami's enormous _shikai_now replaced by his smaller and more powerful _bankai._

Their blades crashed against each other once more as Ichigo launched into a flurry of strikes. Tesla dodged and parried perfectly, his movements appearing effortless in contrast with his opponent's sloppy, rage-driven attacks. Ichigo suddenly jabbed forward with his zanpakuto, the black tip of _Tensa Zangetsu _aiming directly forTesla's chest. The Espada skipped directly backwards and quickly lifted his blade to counter, Ichigo's sword passing through the hole of the _chakram_that so defined Tesla's _Verruga. _A yellow film of _reiatsu _suddenly appeared within the circle, effectively halting Ichigo's strike.

The Shinigami tugged against the defense, but his zanpakuto was completely frozen within the hole, trapped within his opponent's sword. He looked up in fury as Tesla reached down and grabbed his right forearm, further locking him into place. A small orb of red light began to swirl around in front of the Espada's only eye as he pulled Ichigo even closer to him. His mouth opened as a malicious whisper emerged:

"_Cero."_

The large blast slammed into Ichigo, leaving a swath of charred earth in the ground as it drilled through and demolished the nearest building.

"_Shit!_" Yumichika yelled as he rushed forward, his blade aimed at the Espada in front of him. As he lifted his zanpakuto to strike, the punching buzz of a _sonido_ alerted him to a presence behind him. He turned just in time to block this newcomer's attack, the powerful blow sending him leaping backwards to avoid breaking his arm against the recoil.

As the smoke cleared around the area, Yumichika's violet eyes widened as he saw his attacker.

"Oh you have to be fucking kidding me," he hissed as Charlotte Cuuhlhourne approached him.

"And here I had thought," the large and effeminate man said as he ignored his former rival's shock, "that you Shinigami didn't do two-on-one fights?"

"_We don't," _came Ichigo's reply as he stood from the rubble caused by Tesla's _cero. _His Vizard mask was on now, the red and white streaks lining the left side of his face while the right half remained gone, shattered by the _cero's _blast. His clothing was tattered slightly and his left sleeve was completely gone. His gold and black eyes were still burning on the Arrancar ahead of him.

"I see," Tesla said as he coldly regarded his Shinigami opponent. "So you used your hollow mask to strengthen your _reiatsu_ and block my _cero."_

Ichigo said nothing as he lifted his left hand up to the exposed side of his face. With a swift movement, the missing half of his mask re-grew as he waved his palm over it, the white bone moving like milk as it molded itself into a ghastly skull.

"Cuuhlhourne," Tesla said without taking his eyes off of Ichigo, "keep the lieutenant out of our way."

Charlotte snickered. "With pleasure."

The _Octava _Espada charged at Yumichika, spurring the Shinigami to vanish in a burst of _shunpo. _Charlotte scoffed and sheathed his zanpakuto.

"Running already?" he said and licked his lips. "How _ugly."_

Charlotte Cuuhlhourne vanished in a flash, the buzz of his _sonido_tearing into the air for only a second and hardly interrupting the silence that was being held by the other two combatants. Ichigo's glare continued to harden as the seconds ticked by, his fury at witnessing the death of his friend building and burning within him. Tesla smirked.

"Are you angry that I killed her?" he asked, the mockery all but dripping from his voice. "That you had to watch her die?"

"_Shut the fuck up!"_Ichigo yelled, his voice distorted by the surge of hollow _reiatsu_that erupted from his body. He rushed forward, a black and crimson sheet of energy wrapping itself around his blade as he closed the distance between the two of them.

"Good," Tesla said softly and with a smile, the words almost inaudible as Ichigo neared. "Then we are finally equals...

"Crush," he said as he brought his blade up to his face. "_Verruga!"_

The blade of _Tensa Zangetsu_was suddenly halted against the massive palm of Tesla's _resurrección_, the pent up energy of the _Kuroi Getsuga_extinguishing as the gargantuan fist closed upon the blade. With his free hand, the Arrancar slammed a punch into his Vizard opponent's gut, sending the captain flying several meters into the air.

With a brutish chuckle, Tesla blasted towards his opponent with a twin pair of _cero _forming in his fists.

* * *

"So," Kyoraku Shunsui asked lightly as Stark stepped over the fallen body of Komamura Sajin. "It seems as though you haven't let these past few decades weaken you in the slightest."

"This is interesting," Stark said calmly as he stopped, leaving a fair amount of distance between himself and his scimitar-wielding opponent. "You aren't even concerned for your fellow captain back there? I had pinned you as a more compassionate man than that, Mr. Captain."

Shunsui smirked softly. "Sajin? He's survived worse than that."

Stark and Shunsui stared at each other in silence, the Espada's cold grey eyes regarding his enemy in silent reverence; Stark respected this Shinigami more than he respected most of his fellow Arrancar. He was pleased that he could once more face him in battle – after all, if both combatants disliked fighting, perhaps things could end swiftly.

A light wind suddenly cut into the courtyard, blowing Stark's brown hair back and away from his face. A small smirk crossed his lips as he turned to look at the Shinigami he thought he'd killed.

"Is that so?" Stark asked lazily as he turned his head to inspect the bloodied, dog-like captain.

"_Takaoni!"_

The _Primera _Espada hadn't even taken his eyes off Shunsui for a second before the Shinigami had attacked. Stark's head snapped back around to see the large scimitars crisscrossing towards him, a small red whirlwind appearing in front of them. With a tired sigh, Stark released a _cero_from in front of his chest_, _the blue blast shooting forward and causing Shunsui to abort his attack so that he could dodge. The _cero _demolished the west wall of the courtyard, the stone crumbling as Shunsui regained his footing and stepped forward to look at Stark once more.

"And here I thought you had a little more poise than that," Stark scolded as he held his own _katana _up in a fighting stance. "Distracting an opponent to attack them when they aren't looking? For shame."

"My humblest apologies, of course," Shunsui said with an air of sarcasm that was as light as his grin. "But I would hate to waste my only opportunity to defeat you quickly, Espada."

"I see," Stark quipped before vanishing from sight, his body suddenly reappearing behind Shunsui's in a flash of white and black and silver, his _katana _slicing horizontally through the air. The Shinigami ducked below the decapitating strike and spun with both arms outstretched, his massive blades spinning like a black whirlwind. Stark leapt backwards as the low-striking attack was executed, the black sash at his waist fluttering behind him just long enough to lose an inch off the tip.

The Espada quickly countered, leaping forward while slashing downwards with his yellow-handled sword. Shunsui dodged to the left and slashed inwards, his momentum carrying the deadly blades faster than Stark had anticipated. A small slice appeared along the side of the _Primera's _ribcage, the newly formed slit in his white jacket revealing a thin trickle of blood upon his skin. Stark looked down at it with indifference before turning his attention back to Shunsui.

"I just realized something, Espada," Shunsui said with a light chuckle as he shrugged the pink robe from his shoulders, another gust of wind carrying the flowery cape a small distance before it wavered to a stop behind him. His captain's _haori _stood out brightly as the midday sun shone upon it, the bright white only shadowed by Shunsui's hand as he reached up and removed his straw hat and tossed it to the ground.

"And what would that be?" Stark replied, his grey eyes not missing the meaning behind the Shinigami's shed clothing; he understood that the captain was removing these two hindrances so that he could maneuver better in their fight.

"That this is the first time I've actually been able to cut you," Shunsui said, a familiar smile playing across his lips.

Stark looked at his opponent in silence before absent-mindedly touching the small gash in his flesh. He brought his hand up to his face and looked at the blood that stained his fingertips, the red liquid slowly running down towards his palm.

"Also," Shunsui continued, his smile broadening jovially, "I see that your little friend isn't here."

"I could say the same to you, Mr. Captain," Stark quipped back, causing the grin to fall from Shunsui's face at the remembrance of Juushiro. "But Lilinette has another mission that she's on. So it's just _me_ you have to worry about today."

"Is that so?" Shunsui replied, all playfulness now gone from his voice, replaced with uncharacteristic venom. "Then that also means you can't release your _resurrección?_"

Stark smirked darkly. "That's right."

"Wonderful."

Shunsui immediately threw one of his large falchions, the wide blade spinning in a disc of black and silver and white as it spun forward towards Stark. With the remaining blade still in his hand, he slashed forward and summoned a wide gust of wind.

"_Bushou Koma!"_Shunsui yelled as the attack launched forward, swiftly propelling the spinning blade at the Espada. With a buzz, Stark vanished and reappeared a few yards backwards, his head ducking down to avoid the spinning zanpakuto that was flying towards him. At the last moment, however, as the flying half of _Katen Kyoukotsu_was upon him, he stood up swiftly and brought his own sword crashing into the one that was threatening to behead him.

With a flash of sparks, Shunsui's free blade went flying high into the air. The captain's brown eyes immediately shot upwards at his zanpakuto as his mind immediately thought of a way to retrieve the free weapon. He flashed forward and found himself directly underneath the falling sword. Stark buzzed into sight then, his _katana_swinging forward smoothly at Shunsui's torso.

The Shinigami captain blocked the strike with his blade while simultaneously reaching up and catching his other scimitar as it fell towards him. He brought his newly-armed left hand down immediately upon catching his other zanpakuto, the Espada in front of him defenseless against the coming attack. Stark leapt back at the last second, the scimitar's edge slicing a thin cut into his chest, blood spilling out of it as he skidded back along his heel. He grimaced slightly as he opened his mouth to speak:

"_Cero."_

Shunsui didn't have time to react – the attack came from too short a distance. The azure beam slammed against his chest and sent him spiraling backwards into the eastern wall of the piazza. His vision was dizzying slightly as he stopped moving and the heat of the _cero _dissipated from his body, but he was able to see the light blue sky above him as he struggled to get up.

Stark was suddenly directly above him, his left arm outstretched and his index finger pointed directly at him.

"I may not be able to release without Lilinette here, Mr. Captain," Stark said coolly as he squeezed his left eye shut. His left thumb suddenly stuck out and he tilted his hand so that it looked like a toy gun. "But that doesn't mean I can't use my techniques.

"_Cero Metralleta."_

A massive wave of _cero _erupted from Stark's fingertip and rained downwards at Shunsui. He scrambled to get up and run, but he knew he wasn't going to make it. The wall of blue was quickly descending upon him – he could feel its heat on his retreating back. He turned and crossed both of his falchions over his body in an attempt to guard himself from the blast, his eyes closing as the Hollow inferno charged closer.

The explosion came, but there was no pain, no burning. He felt nothing but darkness underneath his closed eyes. But, for some reason, he knew he was alive and unharmed. He opened his eyes, slowly at first, before they flew wide at the sight. His mouth hung open as the shadow of _Kokujou Tengen Myo'ou _enveloped his prone body_._

"I see," Stark said as the massive _bankai _fell to its knees, the upper half of the gigantic samurai already having been obliterated by the barrage of _cero. _"So you _were_ still alive?"

Komamura Sajin stood on shaky legs as his zanpakuto began to return to its sealed state. Blood was still leaking from his wounded chest, but his face remained calm despite the obviously painful gash in his flesh. His upper lip curved upwards and he snarled between labored breaths.

"Sajin!" Shunsui called as he leapt to his feet and he rushed to his companion's side. "Are you—?"

"Don't focus on me, Kyoraku." Komamura growled arrogantly despite his wobbly, blood-soaked frame. "Haven't you noticed yet?"

"Noticed what?" Shunsui asked, his eyes darting cautiously between Stark and Komamura.

"Our Captain-commander is in trouble."

"Retsu is—?" he began before a massive explosion came from over the horizon. Shunsui's eyes widened as he saw the green flame rise into the sky, his brain immediately recognizing the aftermath of a familiar attack. "_Minazuki."_

"Go, Kyoraku!" Komamura yelled out. "Help Captain Unohana! I'll stay here and take care of this Hollow."

"Sajin…" Shunsui said reverently as another explosion shook the ground around them. He gave his companion one last look, a glance of gratitude, before he vanished in a whisper of _shunpo. _Stark watched him go with indifference, his grey irises watching him for only a moment before he turned his attention back to the blood-soaked Komamura Sajin.

"Shouldn't you be headed that way also?" he asked with a sigh, sliding his _katana _back into its yellow scabbard. "Or do you think he will be enough?"

"Why have you sheathed your blade, Espada?" Komamura asked, ignoring the taunt as his voice grew more strained by the second.

"Because I have lost interest in this fight already," Stark replied, punctuating the statement with a yawn and leaving his eyes closed. "Besides, nothing I do at the moment is really going to affect the outcome of our invasion. We have already been declared the victors."

"If that is so," the captain replied, taking a weak and shuffling step forward, "then you should understand that I cannot die here without fighting you once more."

Stark popped one eye open, the grey orb regarding the wounded and bloody Shinigami with slight irritation. He sighed and slid his _katana _back out of it scabbard, the blade shining in the lowering sun. He looked at the staggering Shinigami with a sense of pity; he truly despised fighting yet this was the perfect moment for him to refuse a fight. So why bother? Because he could tell that Komamura was going to die already. While most of Stark's emotions had atrophied into nothingness, his sense of empathy was still functioning properly. He could understand this Shinigami's sense of pride and his desire to die with his feet on the ground.

With another tired sigh, Stark removed his blade from its sheath once more in respect for his dying opponent.

* * *

_"Guncho Tsurara!"_

The arc of jagged icicles curved forward with deadly precision, crashing into the floor of the twelfth division. Hitsugaya Toshirou new better than to assume his opponent had been defeated by the attack; while the young captain had gotten stronger over the past couple of decades, he knew that the _Tsurara _was not a killing blow, even in _bankai_. He immediately leapt back and swung his sword forward again, the zanpakuto slinging an enormous ice-dragon from its tip. The serpentine beast plowed into the wall of ice that had been formed by its wielder's previous attack, its jaws open wide as it smashed its way through to the Espada within.

As the tail of _Hyourinmaru's _attack crashed and molded with the glacier that was in the center of the giant laboratory, Hitsugaya raised his sword one more as dozens of frozen pillars began to form around the mountain of ice that he'd buried his opponent within. His chest heaved up and down for a few moments before he gestured with his blade and the great columns of frozen water crashed downward.

_"Sennen Hyourou!"_

With the ice prison fully constructed, Hitsugaya turned his attention to his lieutenant behind him. She was partly hidden behind a large file cabinet, her _shikai, Tobiume,_at the ready. Hitsugaya made eye contact with her briefly and smiled lightly.

"Thanks for waiting, Hinamori," he said calmly as he leapt away from the frozen mountain he'd created. "Do it."

Hinamori stepped forward, her large brown eyes tightened in determination as she waved her hands around in several complex movements. In a flash, strings of _kidou_shot forth from her fingertips and lassoed their way around the glacier, carefully laying themselves over as much area as possible before returning to her outstretched hands as a single rope-like strand.

_"Fushibi," _Momo said softly as the net was complete and a red ball of energy began to form in her open hand. She reached down to touch the line of _kidou,_the burning fireball in her hand ready to shoot its way up along the string and destroy the ice mountain that it was wrapped around.

"_Shakkahou—"_

The words stopped in her mouth as the pile of ice shattered, a massive axe tearing its way out of the frozen walls and slicing through her _kidou _net. She shot her hand forward immediately, flinging the _Shakkahou _towards the escaping Espada, hoping to hit him while he was preoccupied with demolishing his former prison.

Barragan Luisenbarn simply stuck a hand out a slapped the red fireball out of his way, the explosive spell crashing into the far wall of the room.

"Quite the plan, Shinigami," he growled gruffly, stepping forward as ice sloughed off his broad frame. "Let me guess: your intention was to spread that explosion evenly with the _kidou _net so that I would be unable to defend myself from all angles?"

"_Bastard_," Hitsugay ahissed as he stood next to Momo.

"And you, boy," Barragan said, pointing at the white-haired captain with his large weapon. "That tomb of ice you created was to keep me from touching your lieutenant while she created her trap?"

The two Shinigami did not respond to his accusations, their eyes regarding him with malice from across the room. He chuckled and ran a large hand over his mustache, his mouth smirking underneath the bushy facial hair before opening slowly.

"I see."

The Espada was suddenly behind them, the buzzing sound of his _sonído _echoing off the walls that surrounded them. His large hand was resting on top of Momo's hair, the giant appendage cupping her skull as though it were only a small melon. He lifted her up into the air by her head, placing her body between himself and Hitsugaya.

"Hinamori!" Hitsugaya yelled in shock as his lieutenant dangled helplessly in front of him, her eyes wide and darting around frantically.

"Do you know of my powers, boy?" Barragan asked darkly. The hair on Hinamori's head began to change color, the brown slowly fading into a light gray under the Espada's hand. The eyeball within his axe began to blink wildly in obvious excitement. "That I can control time itself?"

"Let her go!" Hitsugaya demanded as ice began to form on the ground below his feet.

Barragan smirked before chucking Hinamori aside, her body limply hitting the far wall. With a small groan she he hit the ground, her eyes wide and terrified as she stared blankly at the two combatants in front of her. Hitsugaya suddenly rushed towards her, the icy wings on his back spreading out like a bird's in flight.

Barragan's massive axe crashed down in front of him then, splitting the ground open and derailing him from his attempt to reach his friend's side. Hitsugaya was forced backwards as his opponent placed himself between the two Shinigami.

"Rot," the Espada growled maliciously, "_Arrogante!"_

Black flames suddenly began licking at Barragan's flesh, the fires roiling like opaque liquid across his face, covering his entire body within their infernal cocoon. Hitsugaya leapt back again, attempting to place even more distance between himself and the extremely deadly Arrancar.

The flames slowly receded, revealing the Espada's nightmarish new form. With a deliberate slowness, Barragan stepped forward as the tiles beneath his feet began to grind themselves into dust. Hitsugaya stepped back cautiously, his mind racing as he searched for a plan against his demonic opponent. He knew from Soi Fon's reports that this Espada's powers were extremely deadly; keeping a prudent distance between himself and his opponent would be the key to his victory. But then there was Momo…

"Are you worried about the girl?" Barragan asked, his voice sounding as hollow and skeletal as his body. "You needn't worry about her; I still need her to stay alive for a while yet. You, on the other hand, are quite useless to me."

A black haze began to creep from Barragan's ivory jaws, its nebulous swiftly roiling towards Hitsugaya. The captain threw himself away from it, slinging a wave of ice towards his opponent's attack as a counter. The _Guncho Tsurara_ collided with the virulent fog and immediately began evaporating against it.

"_Shit," _Hitsugaya growled as he leapt away from the encroaching mist once more. He turned his attention to the ceiling and thrust his hand forward, a large _Shakkahou_flying into the top of the room and exploding outwards before revealing the blue sky above. Daylight plunged down through the roof's new fistula, the light creating a column that stood between the two opponents.

"What is this?" Barragan asked with irritation, stepping into the light as he continued to approach Hitsugaya. "Are you planning on…?"

The light suddenly grew dimmer, causing the Arrancar's to words to trail off slowly as he looked up at the dark clouds that were suddenly blotting out the sky above. The temperature was rapidly dropping within the lab as a cold breeze rushed in through the gaping hole, the icy breeze blowing Barragan's black robes back.

"_Hyouten Hyakkasou,"_Hitsugaya said calmly as a handful of snowflakes began to drift down from the sky outside. "Don't let the name fool you, Espada. I have long since perfected this technique; the number of deadly petals no longer stops at one hundred. I can cause this fatal snowfall to last forever."

The first of the ice flakes landed upon Barragan and crystallized immediately. They quickly started melting away due to his _Respira_, but were swiftly replaced by more. The Espada's empty eyes turned their attention towards his Shinigami enemy, his skeletal grin revealing nothing as the ice continued to surround him.

"It's just as I suspected," Hitsugaya continued in Barragan's silence, "Your time manipulation cannot keep up with the powers of my ice. I was hoping simply to buy some time to get Hinamori out of here, but it seems I'll be able to dispose of you as well."

"You stupid little shit," Barragan hissed as more and more ice piled upon him.

"Just as time surrounds all things here, so does water," Hitsugaya continued. "Every square inch of the atmosphere is my weapon; there was no way you could escape fro—"

"_Gran Caída."_

The skeletal Arrancar was suddenly behind Hitsugaya, the shadow axe having already cleaved the young Shinigami in half. Toshirou could only gasp in shock as his legs fell away from his torso and rotted away. The rest of his body soon followed suit as the Espada's deadly strike dissolved his flesh and left him in a pile of bones upon the ground. Eventually the bones themselves turned to dust and were blown away by one last icy gust of wind.

"Buying yourself time from he who controls the clock," Barragan said as his flesh returned to his frame and he regained his more human-like form. "You stupid little shit."

He then walked over to Hinamori who was trembling against the wall, her eyes wide in disbelief. He looked down at her and chuckled as she hardly looked away from the spot where her captain had died. With one large hand he picked her up by the back of her neck and began to carry her deeper into the labs of Kurotsuchi Mayuri.

It wasn't long before Barragan found the room he was looking for. It was a darkened laboratory, all lights extinguished with the exception of one single terrarium light. Laying still and isolated behind the large pane of glass was a single specimen – a long, grey tentacle. With his free hand, Barragan smashed into the glass, the protective casing shattering and showering down to the floor. He tossed Hinamori into the cage with a chuck and crossed his arms.

The small tentacle suddenly came to life, lashing outwards at the girl and wrapping itself around her the same way a python would ensnare a rat. The Shinigami didn't move as the tentacle made its way under her clothes and into her body. She simply lay still as her body was taken over by the disgusting parasite that had coiled itself around her.

The only sound she made was a blood-curdling scream as the Arrancar tore its way out of her belly.

The child of the infestation stepped forward as blood dripped from his hair and arms. He drew in several long, gulping breaths as his life suddenly returned to him. With a cruel smile he looked back at his discarded womb, before looking at his fellow Espada.

"Barragan," Szayel-Aporro Granz said with a smirk. "How wonderful it is to see you again."

* * *

_**author's note**_

_i can already feel the hate._

_hope you guys enjoyed the chapter there. thanks to__**jazzpha**__and__**matsumama**__for giving the starrk/shunsui scene a precursory glance for me. go check out their stories._

_i'll hopefully have enough time to get this next chapter out by the end of the week, but a new semester just started, so please bear with me._

_**reviews**__are always appreciated._

_**zaar**__is an african and middle eastern ritual in which a woman becomes possessed by a spirit. kind of appropriate, if you ask me._

_jta!~_

_**zaar - peter gabriel**_


	21. Sysyphus

Sysyphus

"_Bankai," _he chanted calmly as he dropped his blade to the ground, the elegant zanpakuto slipping through the tiles that comprised the floor of his division.

"_Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."_

Kuchiki Byakuya's slate-colored eyes calmly surveyed his surroundings as the double-row of gigantic blades began to rise behind him. Captain Madarame Ikkaku was lying prone to his left, possibly dead in a pool of his own blood – he would need to make sure his swarm of blades avoided that area of the courtyard. Several members of his division were strewn about the piazza, probably deceased – he would still attempt to steer clear of their bodies, but the likelihood of their vitality was extremely low.

And then there was the Espada in front of him.

With a mental command, the towering swords behind him shattered into thousands of deadly shards, their cloud causing the faintest of winds as they rushed past him and towards Tia Halibel. Byakuya had left his assigned division early on in favor of his own, the sixth, as he felt the battle raging between Ikkaku and this Arrancar. He'd arrived just in time to stop Halibel from impaling the fallen Shinigami upon her massive sword, the pink mass of his _shikai _causing her to retreat from his fellow captain's body.

Neither of them had spoken any words before he'd released his _bankai;_Byakuya despised the pointless exchange of words that most of his opponents insisted on having before they clashed swords. He never could understand when a victim of his would persist in pushing their beliefs upon him as he prepared to take their lives. Fortunately, it seemed as though his opponent was also a creature of few words; after a few seconds of calm silence, he'd unleashed his _bankai._

Wordlessly did his wave of blades surge forward, the cascading wall of pink rushing towards the female Arrancar with a deadly force. Soon her form was completely eclipsed by the mass of blades, causing Byakuya to resort to sensing her _reiatsu _to replace his lack of visual aid. Fortunately, this split-second of blindness did not provide him with a hindrance; he had honed this technique of blind-targeting with immense training, almost crafting it into an art. He could easily carve a Hollow into ribbons without so much as opening an eye.

_"Cero."_

Byakuya leaped to the side, his body narrowly missing Halibel's unusually wide attack. His right hand swept out quickly, causing a scythe of floating blades to form and slice through the horde of its brethren. The pink cloud parted, allowing Byakuya to clearly see the woman he was attempting to kill, her body now directly in the path of his swift strike.

With a punching sound, she was suddenly behind him, her massive sword raised vertical above her head. A wall of pink rushed in and formed from surrounding the cloud, blocking her would-be fatal strike as it came crashing down towards Byakuya. The large blade sliced a perfect crescent down the middle of this barrier, revealing to Halibel that her Shinigami prey was gone. He gave her less than a second to ponder on his whereabouts as he whispered into existence behind her, both hands outstretched as a twin pair of horizontal minarets, each formed from the countless blades that surrounded the two of them, came barreling towards her. She quickly reacted pointing her sword at the incoming spires.

"_La Gota."_

A large bullet of water short forth from the tip of her blade, her attack causing Byakuya's to splinter and scatter into formlessness. He barely leaped away, the powerful attack punching a neat hole out of the corner of his white _haori._With a short burst of _shunpo,_he removed himself from the massive ball of pink, the sphere dissipating and falling apart as he made his exit. He landed softly upon a nearby rooftop, his cold eyes regarding the calm Arrancar standing on the ground below.

_Damn, _he thought to himself. _If I could use _Goukei, _I would be able to imprison her within its swirling dome and end this quickly. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to spare Captain Madarame without allowing her the chance to escape._

He knew that Halibel would most likely prevent him from casting a shield of _kidou _around Ikkaku, much less reaching him and removing his body from their arena. So _Goukei _was out of the question. He decided to alter his strategy.

"I see you prefer the use of your blade in combat, Hollow," Byakuya said calmly, finally breaking the conversational impasse that had held out between the two. Halibel said nothing, her eyes remaining fixed upon her Shinigami opponent.

"Fortunately," Byakuya continued, his hands making a single small gesture as he spoke, "I can also combat you with a blade: _Senkei."_

The swirling pink mass immediately spread out to encompass the entire courtyard in which they were standing, the randomly floating shards suddenly shaping themselves into a rectangular box of swords. Halibel flicked her eyes to the side in an attempt to understand the size of the prison in which she was currently encased in, her attention breaking from Byakuya for a single moment as she sized up her new – and possibly far more deadly – arena.

When her eyes moved forward again, Byakuya was reappearing from the nothingness of _shunpo, _his right arm raised and its hand equipped with a glowing pink blade. Halibel had no choice but to take the attack, the powerful sword opening a slice down her belly. The gash ran down along her flat stomach, the centermost of the row of white denticles now missing. Her _hierro _proved strong enough to render the wound non-fatal, but her blood still stained the ground beneath her feet as she continued her leap backwards.

"Impressive, Shinigami," Halibel said, touching a gloved finger to the blood that was now trickling down her stomach. "That strike was quite powerful. Would I be wrong in assuming that that blade of yours is comprised of densely concentrated _reiatsu?"_

"Not quite," Byakuya replied, pointing the sword at her. "The thousands of swirling blades you saw earlier have now condensed themselves into these few dozen _katana. _This action simply increases their destructive potential; one strike from this zanpakuto is equivalent to fifty slashes from a normal sword."

"I see," Halibel said slowly, her spiritual pressure rising within the pink prison. "_Cascada."_

A massive wall of water suddenly crashed through the back wall of the _Senkei, _causing Byakuya to take his attention off of Halibel and _shunpo _out of the way of her tsunami-like attack. As he appeared again, he found the Espada directly across from him, her sword pointed at his chest as she trapped him between the wall of water and her deadly weapon. Water began to swell along the edges of her zanpakuto and a small smirk crossed her face.

_"La Gota."_

The aquatic bullet launched forth, its piecing tip aimed directly for Byakuya's head.

_"Bankai!" _came a strong feminine voice, accompanied by a ribbon of snow that swiftly wrapped itself around Halibel's _La Gota, _freezing it solid. The bullet plummeted to the ground before crashing upon it, the thick icicle shattering into a thousand shards as it slammed harmlessly into the tiles below.

"_Karakkaze_ _Itegumo!"_

Byakuya dropped to the ground, his eyes trained on Captain Kotetsu Isane. She stood between himself and Halibel, the Arrancar now regarding the woman coldly. Her _bankai,_a veritable blanket of snowflakes that swirled around her like a shield, whipped through the courtyard in a manic wind, slowly freezing every last inch of the Espada's water.

"Captain Kuchiki," the silver-haired woman spoke over her shoulder, her large eyes glaring forward at her opponent. "Please retreat from this battle."

"Captain Kotetsu!" Byakuya began, his mouth hanging open as he took a step forward. "I—"

"Do not argue, Byakuya!" she snapped, her unusually aggressive tone – and the use of his first name - silencing him almost immediately. "Other divisions are suffering greatly at the hands of these Arrancar – allow me to dispatch this one while you put your abilities to use elsewhere."

Byakuya stood silent for a moment before sheathing his zanpakuto.

"Thank you," he said quietly, "Isane."

He was gone with a whisper.

Isane turned her attention back to Halibel, the female Espada's teal eyes narrowing at her new opponent.

"Do you think that was such a good idea," Halibel asked, "letting him run off like that? Certainly the two of you would have had a far better chance of defeating me."

"I am a healer," Isane began, disregarding the threat of her opponent. "I can taste whenever there is death and pain in the air. I can feel the losses we have already suffered at your hands today, Espada. I allowed Captain Kuchiki to leave so that he could help prevent the spreading of your destruction."

"And yet you prefer to face me unassisted," Halibel inquired, her eyes narrowing. "Why?"

"Quite simply, because I can freeze your water-based attacks," Isane replied. "You cannot pierce my shield of snow. And once I have disposed of you, I will heal Captain Madarame behind you and we shall begin our counter attack on your remaining forces."

"Is that so?"

"It is."

Halibel vanished suddenly, her body vanishing in a buzz of white and brown and blonde. She swiftly appeared behind her Shinigami opponent and fired off a twin pair of _Gota,_the two missiles screaming through the air towards the Captain's turned back. Without even turning around, the whirlwind that was surrounding Isane stopped the duo of water bullets instantly, the both of them freezing solid within a second. The Shinigami turned around and lifted her hands, causing the snowy force-field that surrounded her to grab onto the two chunks of ice like an infant wound grasp at a bottle.

"_Touketsuhai," _Isane said quietly as she re-fired the two missiles, now as thick as glaciers, back at the Arrancar. Halibel leapt backwards, her body spinning in the air as the pair of ice spears flew underneath her body harmlessly.

"So," Halibel said sternly as her armored feet touched the ground once more. "My ranged attacks are futile against you. That problem is easily avoidable."

With a buzzing shock, Halibel was directly in front of Isane, her massive blade crashing into the snowy shield that encompassed the captain. The sword struck, but the snow thickened instantly against the sword's edge, causing the female Arrancar to repel back forcefully. As she retreated, however, an arm of snow remained attached, connecting her sword to the area of the Shinigami's frozen armor like a frigid tether.

"_Kawayatsume," _Isane said confidently as the serpent-like ice began to completely solidify upon the Espada's weapon. "Now your blade – and your arm – belong to me, Arrancar."

"Tch," Halibel scoffed as she swung her arm down forcefully. "_Hirviendo!"_

As her strike flew downward, the frozen bridge that was connecting her to her Shinigami opponent instantly evaporated into steam. The sublimation effect continued along the ice until it reached the actual swirling shield that enveloped Isane's whole body, where it then destroyed the icy armor itself. Isane's eyes widened at the destruction of her _bankai, _her shock too much to overcome as the Arrancar appeared directly in front of her.

Halibel quickly plunged the tip of her sword into the Shinigami's gut, the white blade turning red as it tore through the skin and muscles of Isane's stomach. The captain gasped slightly, her opponent staring blankly into her eyes, before she crumpled to the ground in a bloody heap.

"I was only going to take one prisoner…" Halibel said as she flicked the blood off her zanpakuto, her teal eyes glancing over at Ikkaku's prone body across the courtyard.

"But I suppose I can return with the both of you."

* * *

Hisagi leapt away, the bottoms of his feet just barely avoiding the swing from Allon's massive fist. The chimera's blow instead struck one of the numerous boulders that littered the subterranean arena, the large rock shattering into a thousand pebbles beneath the force of the attack. Hisagi swung downwards with scythe in his right hand, the blade spinning in a vicious arc before opening a deep gash upon the top of the monster's hand. A fountain of blood quickly erupted outwards from the slash, covering the smaller Shinigami in crimson and staining his white _haori _a deep scarlet. Hisagi quickly tugged on the chain that connected his hand to the airborne sickle, the weapon spinning back to his waiting hand.

With a bellowing roar, the fresh wound upon Allon's hand closed as it swung its left hand forward. The open-palm slap almost connected with Hisagi, but he managed to flash-step out of the way, reappearing in time to lash out again with his _shikai _and carve a deep canyon through the flesh of Allon's forearm_. _Hisagi quickly vanished once more, this time deciding to put some distance between himself and the beast that he was fighting. His eyes darted over to the Espada, narrowing as he looked upon the female Arrancar that was standing to the side of the battle, completely out of harm's way. She noticed his look and tittered slightly.

"What's wrong, Shinigami?" she asked with a snicker. "Are you starting to have flashbacks from the last time you faced my _pet?"_

Hisagi scoffed. "Hardly."

He vanished suddenly in a bust of _shunpo, _reappearing almost immediately in front of Apache, the left blade of _Kazeshini _spinning directly for her head. As the deadly strike neared her, however, a wave of _reiatsu _erupted from Allon, causing the scythe's course to alter dramatically and miss its target completely. Hisagi's eyes widened in surprise for a moment before he retracted the chain and leapt away, once more placing a sizeable distance between himself and the pair of Hollow.

"Don't look so confused," Apache sneered, her lips curving upwards devilishly. "While I may be able to control Allon without Sun-sun or Mila Rose, I wind up being completely defenseless while I concentrate on it. Fortunately, Allon doesn't want to see another one of its masters get hurt; it'll protect me until it dies."

"Oh yeah?" Hisagi quipped back. "Then I guess I should just focus all of my attention on him from now on?"

"Yeah," Apache said with an evil chuckle, her index finger pointing over Hisagi's shoulder. "Maybe you should start doin' that."

Hisagi hadn't even heard Allon approaching from his rear; his eyes had barely made it over his shoulder when the enormous beast came crashing forward at him. Hisagi jumped as high as he could, but his right ankle was caught in the monster's fist. He let out a cry of pain as he felt all of the bones beneath his shin crumple. Allon swiftly turned and whipped the Shinigami across the cavernous training room, Hisagi's limp body crashing into a rock outcropping with a sickening thud.

He slumped to the floor as the towering behemoth stomped towards him, the ambling beast taking its time as his prey struggled to stand. Hisagi struggled to stand, his right foot refusing to straighten out, forcing him to use his left leg alone. He timidly put weight on his right foot, only to grit his teeth and hiss in pain.

_Shit, _he thought as he looked at the twisted flesh that stuck out above his sandal. _Looks like I have no choice, then._

Hisagi stuck both of his scythes forward, each of the blades shimmering as a white light began surrounding them and his _reiatsu_surged. Allon stopped for a moment, its empty eyes surveying its opponent for a moment, its head tilting to the side like a confused puppy. Then, with a bellowing roar, Allon's enormous maw split open from under its filthy mane and it rushed forward with a blinding speed in an attempt to crush its opponent.

"_Bankai!" _Hisagi roared as the monstrous Hollow barreled down upon him. "_Kurotatsumaki Kazeshini!"_

A wave of black wind, backed by an equally dark _reiatsu _surged forward, halting the enormous leviathan in its tracks. As the opaque gales subsided, Hisagi was left standing solitary among the rocks of Urahara's basement, the black _khopesh_of his second _bankai _gripped tightly within his fists. Apache stood stoic as Hisagi's spiritual energy swelled within the room.

"I was hesitant to use this _bankai," _he said as he looked from her to the behemoth in front of him. "I usually can't call it out this quickly and control it. But it seems as though he's going to cooperate with me today."

Allon took a moment to register his opponent's newfound strength before resuming its tearing course across the stones, its colossal maw reopening as saliva dripped from its teeth in viscous strands. Hisagi shook his head slightly and stepped back, crossing both of the hand-held sickles over his chest as the beast charged him.

"_Arashi no Senmon!" _he yelled as he threw both blades forward and out of his grasp, the two _khopesh _twirling around one another, each of the black weapons dancing through the air as the flew at the giant Hollow. They soon formed a spear of wind, looking like a tornado that had been turned upon its side, the tip of the funnel pointing at Allon's chest.

With a gut-wrenching tear, the twin sickles drilled through and ripped apart the beast's abdomen. The forward momentum of Allon's sprint caused its top half to separate completely from its legs, the spine snapping audibly as the colossal torso flung itself forward and onto the ground. The legs continued to kick and thrash futilely against the rocky floor of the cavern as blood sprayed and pooled along the earth.

"So," Hisagi said calmly as he limped forward, his eyes glaring into Apache's as he moved. "Now that your pet is dead, what can _you_ do?"

"Don't count us out just yet," Apache clicked her tongue slightly as her lip curled up into another snarl. "_Shinigami_!"

She raised her severed arm up once more, a new fountain of blood spurting from the stump and towards Allon. Hisagi stopped suddenly, his eyes going wide as the bifurcated monster at his feet began revive itself, the blood from its master gluing its separate halves together again. The Shinigami hadn't expected Allon to be resurrected and hadn't taken any precautions concerning his proximity to it; Hisagi was practically right next to the beast when it rose up and lashed out at him, an enormous fist closing upon his body.

Hisagi cursed his carelessness as Allon stood and began to squeeze him with its right hand. He should have stayed more alert; he'd already witnessed this Arrancar's ability to rise from the dead. His mind quickly became hazy as he felt one of his ribs splinter within his chest as the vice-grip like fist tightened upon him. His vision was fading around the edges, a dark blanket encroaching inwards from his peripheral sights. He heard a pop – probably his shoulder tearing from the socket – but he could hardly feel anything. His head was spinning. The only thing he could see was Allon's enormous teeth before his face.

"_Ardiente Cuchilla!"_

He was suddenly falling, but he could breathe again. His vision quickly began to return, the pain of his near-fatal compression arriving with it and causing an immense throbbing to tear though his body. He struggled to remain conscious as the pain of his crushed torso threatened to overwhelm him. He looked up at Allon and his eyes widened at what he saw.

Lilinette was attacking it, her _resurrección_'_s _flames slicing through the monster's massive forearm like a flaming sword. The burning blade soon severed the gigantic limb, forcing Hisagi to quickly crawl out of the way as it landed next to him. The smaller _Septíma _Espada landed in front of him, her lithe body standing rigid between his injured form and the raging Hollow.

"What…" Hisagi began, as he continued to struggle for air. "What are you—?"

"Repaying you for the sushi," Lilinette said sharply and sarcastically, immediately halting the conversation there. "Besides, this bitch and I have a score to settle."

"You're goddamned right we do!" Apache hollered from across the room, her bloodied stump continuing to leak and revive Allon. "I've been waiting for this moment for a long time, you fucking _fake."_

Lilinette seethed silently, her jaw clenching against the insult that her fellow Espada hurled at her. Apache smirked and continued.

"That's right," she said snarkily. "The _hogyouku _might have given you a _resurrección _of your own, but you still ain't a _real_ Arrancar. You're a freak, a monster." She paused as the bloody fountain at the end of her half-arm halted once more and Allon's arm grew back in full. "And if it weren't for Lady Halibel, you'd be _nothing!"_

Allon suddenly reached out and grabbed Lilinette, both of his massive hands gripping her and squeezing her small body mercilessly.

"That's right, you little brat," Apache called out as Allon continued to constrict her opponent. "That Espada tattoo does you little justice. You didn't earn it like _I_ did; yours was a goddamned _gift. _And now, I'm going to take it from you."

Lilinette suddenly breathed in deeply, her mouth bringing in far more air than her asphyxiating captor should have allowed. Her pink irises glared up at Allon for a split second before she exhaled a pair of deadly words.

"_Caja Torácica."_

Allon immediately dropped Lilinette to the ground, its enormous mouth tearing open and emitting a blood-curdling howl. It began to wave its giant hands around in the air as though something hot was burning the flesh of its palms. The ten fingers quickly began to deform, each digit snapping and breaking to bend into horrifically abnormal angles. Lilinette stood from the floor and walked up to Allon, a row of spikes now protruding from each side of her ribcage. They slowly slipped back into her ivory armor, leaving a row of bleeding holes along each side of her body.

"I see you can feel the pain of my poison," she said as Allon whimpered on the floor in front of her, its massive eyeball rolling in agony as it attempted to focus on the petite Espada in front of him. She calmly stuck her arm out to the large orb, her hand vanishing as it was replaced by a small ball of flame.

"_Lanzallama."_

The flamethrower roared forward and into Allon's eye. The beast screamed painfully as the fires spread throughout its skull, its massive body rolling on the floor in a vain attempt to put them out. Lilinette glanced up at Apache, her pink eyes dancing in joy slightly at the worried look on her fellow Espada's face. The one-armed girl looked from Allon to Lilinette, a wicked snarl spreading over her face.

"You think he can't recover from that?" She yelled as she brought her stubbed arm up, another river of blood beginning to flow from the end of it. "As long as I stand, Allon is invici-"

Lilinette was standing directly in front of Apache, the buzz of _sonído_ doing little to warn the _Novena _that her opponent had moved. Blood began to fall from her lips as Lilinette removed her fist from Apache's chest, leaving a large and dark hole where her sternum had once been. Her eyes widened in surprise as she struggled for breath, her lips parting uselessly as more blood began to fill her mouth and spill.

"Don't think for a second," Lilinette growled as she leveled her arm at Apache's face, the flamethrower within it sputtering to life once more. "That I am undeserving of the rank of _Septíma._"

With a hiss, another stream of fire exploded outwards from her wrist and engulfing Apache's torso. Lilinette ceased the stream of flames and lowered her arm as the dead Arrancar fell to the ground in a scorched and mangled heap. The smaller girl stood still for a moment as she looked at her fallen rival, her eyes narrowing in hatred before she turned around and walked to the fallen body of Hisagi.

Her _resurrección _slipped off of her body as she slowly walked towards Hisagi, the self-inflicted puncture wounds along her ribcage bleeding more as the white armor of her released state vanished. She began to stagger slightly as she walked, the stumbling growing worse until she collapsed in front of Hisagi. The battered Shinigami struggled to move towards her, but she quickly held up a hand to stop him.

"I'm fine," she said with a small wheeze, "this happens every time I use _Caja Torácica."_

"What _was_ that?" Hisagi asked as his rescuer sat down to catch her breath. All he'd seen was Allon suddenly drop her and go completely wild with hadn't seen her do anything besides sit there helplessly before she'd reduced a once ferocious monster into a whimpering ball.

"If anything grabs hold of me, I can jab my ribs through my skin and inject it with poison," she replied as her breath began to even out slowly. "It hurts the shit out of me, but it makes whoever I stab feel like they're on fire."

Hisagi leaned back and placed his head against the stone floor, his eyes looking up at the artificial sky that hung above them as a moment of awkward silence. Eventually he turned his face to hers and spoke.

"Thanks for saving me," he said softly as he looked at her.

"Hey," she said with a jovial smile, "I was just returnin' the favor."

The corner of his mouth curved up slightly in the presence of such a joyous grin; he couldn't help himself but smile when faced with someone as indefatigably perky as this small Arrancar. She chuckled slightly before laying down next to him, their eyes still locked together.

"I guess it was a good idea to keep me around," she said with a snicker, "huh, Shuuhei?"

Hisagi didn't get to respond.

A massive _cero _suddenly ripped through the ceiling, completely demolishing the fake blue skies above them, sending a wall of rock and stone plummeting from above. Within seconds, the entire cavern was left in darkness as the ground above fell inwards and buried everything inside.

* * *

Kurotsuchi Nemu burst out of the halls of the fourth division, her deep green eyes squinting against the harsh afternoon sunlight.

She had wanted to stay within the medical ward as long as she possibly could; when the wounded began to roll in, she wanted to be there to immediately asses any and all of the situations at hand. After all, Captain Kotetsu – despite great opposition – had left her in charge of the division, so she wanted to ensure that she was doing an acceptable job.

But the battles had been raging outside for a while now, and not a single injured Shinigami had made their way into the fourth's clinics. It was starting to become painfully clear to Nemu that the attacking Arrancar had no intention of leaving a lot of people alive. It was logical to assume that if these Espada were going to take prisoners, they would only be captives of captain-level ability; to assume that they would leave someone of a weaker seat alive was simply obtuse. Nemu could easily deduce that the wards of the fourth division wouldn't be overflowing anytime soon.

She stopped and concentrated, her abnormally apt ability to sense spiritual signatures spreading out over the Soul Society. She was only half relieved when she felt Kira's _reiatsu; _she knew that if he found himself in a life threatening situation, his _bankai _would be more than enough to allow him a swift victory. She knew she never had to worry about Kira.

The rest of Seireitei was not faring so well, however. She could feel the fading presence of several lower-ranked Shinigami around her immediate area, as well as Captain Ikkaku and Captain Kotetsu's low _reiatsu _in the sixth division. The fact that both of them were unconscious was enough evidence to lend further credit to her theory of captain-level prisoners. Otherwise why would the two of them be…?

Nemu stopped searching suddenly as an oddly familiar presence made itself known. She turned slowly, her keen senses pointing her in the exact spot that the Arrancar would appear. She quickly pulled her zanpakuto out from its scabbard and blocked the still unseen strike, the Espada emerging out of _sonído _exactly where she'd predicted, his blade crashing into hers with a powerful force. Her eyes went wide at the sight of her opponent.

"Y-you!" she stammered as the pink-haired Arrancar smirked at her.

"Hello, Nemu," Szayel-Aporro Granz said with a wicked smirk. "How wonderful it is to see you again."

He slashed forward against her block, sending her skidding backwards along her heels and further into the center of the courtyard. He quickly closed the distance between them, leaning in with a cruel lunge, his zanpakuto jabbing forward at her abdomen. She quickly blocked with a downward slash, running her blade up and along his in an attempt to slice his unguarded fingers. He quickly reacted, spinning to the left so his body was inside of her strike-zone while bringing himself closer to her at the same time. He struck down and connected, her left shoulder opening up in a fountain of scarlet blood.

"You look surprised to see me," he teased as she staggered backwards, his left middle finger coming up to touch the center of his glasses.

"I am surprised," Nemu remarked as her arm dangled slightly in the wake of his attack. "But it's not illogical to see you in your natural state once more. Captain Kurotsuchi and I had always suspected that you would be able to resurrect yourself, even after prolonged states of time. My only question," she continued as she struggled to bring her wounded arm back to its regular stature, "is where you found a suitable place for your rebirth?"

"One of your fellow lieutenants acted as my 'mother' today," he said, an evil gleam showing in his eyes. "A small girl with brown hair."

"Lieutenant Hinamori," Nemu said, her still face showing no emotion at the loss of her colleague. "Then I am to assume Captain Hitsugaya has been killed as well? I cannot see him allowing her to die while he still breathed."

"That's the Nemu I've missed," he said with a snicker, ignoring her question. "It has been awfully lonely since you left the division; you were the only one who ever tried to study me. Your wretched father stopped his studies the moment you transferred, you know."

"That is only logical," Nemu said, an atypical timbre of venom lining her words. "His final experiment on you was to see how long you could survive without any sort of assistance."

Szayel-Aporro's grin faded, quickly being replaced by a slight grimace.

Nemu continued, undisturbed. "By our calculations, for you to have made it this long, you must have entered some form of living _hypostasis _to maintain any sort of bodily function. Would this be a correct assumption?"

His frown strengthened as a growl rose up in the bottom of his throat. Nemu smirked – ever so slightly – and continued.

"It must have been this way. Surely no other explanation exists for your apparent survival. I'm positive that Captain Kurotsuchi refrained from nourishing you; his final study on you was, after all, to see how long you could live without a source of sustenance."

"You _whore!" _Szayel-Aporro spat as he lunged forward at her, his zanpakuto clashing with hers once more. "You left me to die and you make _jokes?"_

He forced her down with a surprising amount of strength, her knees buckling under the force of the weight and hitting the ground. She gasped as he continued to apply pressure, his amber colored eyes growing wild and crazed at the sight of his strained former captor.

_"_Sip," he growled, forgoing his normal showboating ritual so that he could keep her pinned. "_Fornicarás!"_

He exploded around her, a deep purple slime covering the majority of the courtyard as it splattered forward. The viscous goo quickly began returning to its point of origin, a pile of it forming a man-shaped mass. The last of the oil sloughed off of her body as it finished sculpting the released form of Szayel-Aporro Granz.

He looked down at Nemu and his confident smile quickly faded. In her place was a grass-colored chrysalis, its shiny shell standing where the lieutenant once had been. It soon cracked and split along the middle, Nemu emerging from the small sarcophagus with a double-edged trident.

"Spin and protect," she said calmly, "_Imomushi."_

"What is this?" Szayel-Aporro hissed as his new body began to automatically create clones of her body, the slime of his _resurrección_ having already touched her cocoon.

"This is my zanpakuto," Nemu said calmly as she pointed one end of the trident at her opponent. "It lacks any sort of critical attack power, but its defensive capabilities are unrivalled in all of Soul Society."

"What are you tal—?" the Arrancar began as he noticed that his would-be army of clones were all limp and dead copies of Nemu, each one misshapen and deformed beyond life. A few of the poor creatures had managed to suck in breath, and spent what energy they possessed moaning and writhing in agony upon the ground.

"Even your special abilities are nothing compared to my shield. However," Nemu said calmly as she whispered into invisibility, her thin frame reappearing directly in front of Szayel-Aporro. "I do have _one _attack:

"_Mayuwokakeru,"_She said softly as she spun the trident in front of her, a thin strand of silk-like material extending from both ends.

Szayel-Aporro's hand quickly broke through her weapon, splitting it in half as his fist clenched around her throat. Her eyes widened in surprise as his grip on her trachea tightened, his grin growing deadly as he glared into her eyes.

"You're too slow for an Espada," he hissed as he brought his other hand up, his fingers forming into a spear, "girl."

A streak of blue light suddenly flew between them, tearing a chunk out of the Espada's arm. Szayel-Aporro released his grip on Nemu as blood began to flow from his newly formed wound. He turned around to see the owner of the attack, his eyes widening in surprise as his mouth split upwards into a grin.

"So," he said with a laugh, "the Quincy is alive, too?"

Ishida Uryuu stood tall against a backdrop of broken concrete, the bandages that covered his injured torso eclipsed by the armor of the Quincy's _Letzter Stil. _The cross-adorned breast-plate that covered his chest shone brightly in the afternoon sunlight, the solar luminosity outshined only by the massive blue flame that jetted from his right shoulder. Ishida glared steadily at Szayel-Aporro, his energy bow already pulled back and ready to fire once more.

"I do not know how you are still alive, Espada," the Quincy said with detestation, the light reflecting off of his glasses obscuring his eyes, "but I do not care. I am here to finally eradicate you."

"Is that so?" Szayel-Aporro retorted, his attention all but turned away from Nemu as he left the female Shinigami to gasp for breath on the ground.

With a wordless flash, Ishida appeared above the Espada, his _hirenkyaku _carrying his feet as fast as any Shinigami's _shunpo _ever could. Szayel-Aporro looked up in complete astonishment, his amber eyes stretching as he looked into the cold blue eyes of the Quincy. Ishida smirked and let fly his arrow, blowing himself several meters into the air as the blast demolished the ground surrounding the Arrancar.

Ishida landed nimbly upon the ground, the blue flame on his shoulder cutting through the darkness that the soot and dust in the air caused. With a snap of his wrist, the _Letzter Stil _vanished, causing the Quincy warrior to slump slightly as he attempted to catch his breath. Slowly, he staggered towards Nemu, a small grin on his face.

"Lieutenant Kurotsuchi," he said almost jovially, "are you alright?"

"Yes," Nemu responded as she stood, her hand rubbing delicately at her neck. "No major pain was inflicted; I believe that the Espada's attack on my throat was merely a means to restrain me until a more fatal blow could be administered."

"That's good," he said mildly. "We'll need all the strength we can gather to eliminate the rest of the Espada in Soul Society."

Ishida smiled once more at his old ally, glad to see that she was okay. Nemu returned the smile, although faintly, as she looked at her odd savior. While she had never held much of an opinion on the Quincy race – mainly due to her father's inhumane treatment of them – she'd always found this one to be a splendid specimen. She'd forever think it was a shame that he'd never consented to Soul Society studying him further.

Ishida's chest suddenly exploded, bits of bone and lung splashing upon Nemu's face as the purple and white arm that jutted through the man's torso wriggled. The Quincy gasped for breath as Szayel-Aporro's face slithered through the debris in the air and stopped next to his own, the Espada's wide and inhuman grin spreading white next to the crimson the dripped from Ishida's lips.

"Do you think I _forgot _about you, Quincy?" Szayel-Aporro hissed into his ear, his long tongue slipping out and lapping at the choking man's cheek. He reached his right hand up to Ishida's neck, the violet fingers closing on his throat. "Just because you've gotten stronger doesn't mean I've lost my data on your attack capabilities."

The Espada slid his free hand up from Ishida's neck until his palm cupped the Quincy's chin, his thumb and forefingers framing the angular jaw-line of his victim. With a quick and vicious twist of the Arrancar's wrist, Ishida's neck snapped and his head fell forward, lolling lazily as his body remained upright from the hand that was thrust through his torso. Szayel-Aporro chuckled and slid his arm back through the fissure he'd created in the dead man's chest, leaving Ishida to fall to the ground.

"And now," the Arrancar said gleefully as he looked at Nemu, the female Shinigami bringing her zanpakuto up in defense as his deadly wings stretched out to envelop her. "It's time I finally taste a little bit of revenge."

His right pair of wings suddenly fell to the ground, the two of them pinned to the already shattered tiles below. His amber eyes snapped towards them in confused irritation as he struggled to stand up straight once more. He grimaced and tugged against the invisible weight that seemed to be holding him to the floor. A sudden whisper of _shunpo _brought his attention back to the Shinigami that had been in front of him. He was no longer looking at the female lieutenant; between himself and Nemu was a blonde man in a captain's _haori._

"Do you have any final words," Captain Kira Izuru asked stoically as he turned the odd blade of _Wabisuke _upside down, "Arrancar?"

* * *

_**author's note**_

_so hopefully the tides are turning, right?_

_big shout out to everyone that has reviewed thus far:__**jazz, mordecai, mats, lib, del, and the rest.**__if i forgot to mention you, please forgive me; i am rather drunk right now._

_anyhoo, i hope you enjoyed the chapter. the home-stretch is coming up, so feel free to __**review **__and spur me on to get there sooner!_

_YES!_

_jta!~_

_**sysyphus (part II) - pink floyd**_


	22. One Girl in All the World

_**One Girl in All the World**_

_"Bakudo _number sixty-two_," _his voice rang out calmly through the smoke, "_Hyapporankan."_

Dozens of long rods erupted from the debris, the purple hexagons flying forward quickly at their intended target. Sarugaki Hiyori stood and watched the binding spell draw closer to her, her golden irises regarding them calmly from behind her horned mask. With an effortless swing of her arm, she brought her zanpakuto crashing upwards and into the violet poles, shattering the _kidou _spell into countless shards.

She clicked her tongue softly in annoyance. "I thought said you were gonna take this seriously," she called out into the smoldering rubble of the Urahara Shop. "Kisuke!"

The ghastly jaws of her Hollow-mask opened as a bright ball of red formed between its ivory teeth. She spat the _cero _out from her maw, the bright beam of energy tearing through the cloud of dust and demolishing what was left of the Urahara Shop, the attack blasting through the ground and into the basement level below.

_"Bakudo _number sixty-three," Urahara called out as he flashed into sight behind her, his grey eyes regarding her coldly. "_Sajo Sabaku."_

The Vizard girl's eyes flew open in shock as the golden length of chain materialized from nothingness and surrounded her body, the _kidou _links tightening around her torso like a python constricting a large rat. Urahara landed in front of her, his clogs clicking gently against the ruined street. His green robe was significantly tattered and his green and white hat was gone. A trickle of blood trailed from his temple and down to his cheek, the crimson liquid curving along his well-defined jaw-line. His left forearm was bleeding as well, blood that seeping from the burns that he'd gained while guarding himself from Hiyori's powerful _cero._

The same _cero _that had destroyed his home.

"You really think this spell will keep me down?" Hiyori growled as she began to wriggle within the chains, her _reiatsu _swelling and causing the spell to slowly disintegrate.

Urahara suddenly slammed his zanpakuto into the asphalt at his feet, _Benihime's _edge sticking into the ground while pointing her handle towards the sky. Urahara looked at Hiyori with steeled eyes as he crossed the index and middle finger of both hands, lifting them slowly to his face and touching the tips of them together in front of his nose.

"_Bakudo _number ninety-nine, part one:" he said calmly as the Vizard in front of him stopped struggling against her bindings, her black and gold eyes widening at the spell that was being summoned. "_Kin."_

The twin tethers of black sprung forward at her out of nowhere, slithering along the concrete like a pair of vipers approaching their unassuming prey. They quickly slipped up her legs, wrapping themselves around her thighs as they continued their ascent. When the two lines reached her neck, they wrapped around her throat before crisscrossing and darting forward as a set of iron pegs slammed into them. Hiyori was quickly yanked downwards, the sudden pull thrusting her face into the sidewalk, shattering her mask.

Urahara calmly plucked _Benihime _out from the street and strolled over to his pinned opponent, placing the tip of the zanpakuto under her chin. He lifted up gently against Hiyori's face, the razor-sharp tip opening a small slice in the pale skin of her throat.

"You blew up my Shop, Hiyori," he said coolly, his steel-colored eyes looking down at her exposed face as he donned a fake frown. "That wasn't very nice."

"Tch," she hissed, her amber irises glaring up at him hotly. "Don't give me that shit; I know you've got about a _dozen_ of those things set up."

"That's beside the point," Urahara said flippantly, his face still serious despite the always friendly tone of his voice. "Not to mention that my friend was in there. So were yours."

"Those Arrancar?" Hiyori spat. "Those bitches ain't my friends, you moron."

"Oh?" he replied, the tip of his sword sliding away from her throat ever-so-slightly. "Then – if you don't mind my asking – what the _fuck _are you doing teamed up with them?"

"And here I thought you were smarter than that, Kisuke," she said, her thin neck curving upwards a bit more to look him straight on. "Weren't you the one that always told me that '_things aren't always as they seem_'?"

"I'm not followin' you," Urahara said softly as he struggled to keep from looking completely baffled.

"Are you _seriously_ tellin' me that you thought we were gonna be all _buddy-buddy_with you stinkin' Shinigami?" Hiyori asked, her voice ripe with disbelief as she saw through his front. "You've gotta be fuckin' joking!"

"Then what _are_ you doing?" he asked, no longer ashamed to let some curiosity be apparent in his voice. "If you're pulling a fast one on me, I have yet to see the logic behind it."

"If you think I'm gonna spell it out for you," Hiyori growled through her teeth. "You're _obviously_ not as smart as you say you are, dickhead."

"I see," Urahara said as he took the tip of his blade away from Hiyori's neck and stepped back, a sad look adorning his face as he crossed his fingers once more.

"_Bakudo _number ninety-nine, part two:" he said quietly as Hiyori stared up at him defiantly. "_Bankin, first song: Shiryuu."_

Several yards of cloth suddenly snapped towards the small girl, quickly wrapping her from head to toe in white spiritual fabric. She didn't even squirm – perhaps in a final act of obstinate defiance – as Urahara called upon the next step of the spell, the second song's _Hyakurensan_ launching a dozen metal darts into her cocooned body at his command.

With a sigh, Urahara Kisuke paused and looked down at his former lieutenant as he prepared for the final attack.

"_Final Song,"_he said softly, raising his hand as a massive block of steel formed above Hiyori's imprisoned body. "_Bankin Taih—"_

"_Hifuki no Kozuchi!"_

A monstrous blast of fire exploded upon the _Bankin's _crushing weapon, the flames roiling over it and onto the ground below, setting the street ablaze. Aikawa Love landed amid the fires, his white _oni_mask reflecting the orange from the flames that surrounded him on all sides. He spun the massive _kanabou _over his head lazily, halting the twirl to let it rest on his shoulder effortlessly. He calmly reached a hand up to the demonic shield that covered his face, the white bone melting away as he slid his fingers over it. He looked over his shoulder and into the flames behind him.

"Hiyori," he said with a half smile. "Shinji _told_ me to keep an eye on you. But I never thought I would actually have to bail your ass out like this."

"Shut up, you dickless baldy!" Hiyori hollered as she stood up from the flames, the white cloths that had been covering her body having burned off of her. A few of the steel needles from the _Bankin _were still sticking out from her flesh, the small darts leaving thin rivulets of blood to streak down her body. "Don't act like I was fightin' some stinkin' weakling!"

"I'm not," Love said as he turned his eyes forward once more, his irises peering through his sunglasses and into the flames ahead of him. "I just figured you'd have let go of your attachment to your old captain by now."

"_What?_" she hissed defensively. "It's nothin' like that, you—"

"Sing, _Benihime!"_

A vicious arc of crimson energy lashed out from within the fires, cutting Hiyori off. Love quickly brought his club down from his shoulder, the gigantic weapon easily deflecting the attack as it shielded the two Vizards behind it. He lifted it again and tilted his glasses down from the bridge of his nose so that he could clearly see over them.

With a gust of cold wind, the dark clouds that had been threatening them all morning suddenly broke and a torrent of rain began to fall over Karakura town. The flames surrounding the fighters extinguished slowly as the smoke began to dissipate, revealing the faint red glow from Urahara Kisuke's _Chikasumi no Tate._

The blood-mist shield was barely intact, three of its four points having already disintegrated against the power of Love's attack. With a wave of his hand, Urahara sent the remainder of the barrier shattering into oblivion. He steeled his eyes on the Vizards in front of him, _Benihime_pulsating a faint crimson in his hands. He could feel her desire to attack the man in front of them, but Urahara new better than to rush in and attack this former Shinigami head-on. To do that would be akin to a death-wish.

"Aikawa-san," Urahara said lightly, almost teasingly. "What a pleasure it is to see you again."

"Likewise, Urahara," Love responded with a smirk. "It's been far too long."

"Hasn't it, though?" Urahara asked as he cautiously took a step forward, grimacing slightly at the pain he suddenly felt in his right hip. Apparently the Vizard's attack had connected a little better than he'd thought.

"You know," Urahara began again, his eyes still trained on his opponents as he waited for any sign of movement from the duo in front of him. "When I'd heard that Lisa and Rose had left the 'family', it had left me a tad bit baffled. Would I be correct in assuming that they didn't want to be a part of this plan of yours?"

"Something like that," Love said, his fist tightening upon the grip of his massive club as the strengthening rain began to spill from it. "But it's a little deeper."

"Shut up, Love!" Hiyori hissed. "What are you doing?"

"You know," Urahara continued, ignoring the small girl as _Benihime's _pulsations grew stronger in his hands with each forward step, "I'd figured it was. But I had always hoped that _you _would have left when Shinji's head got too big for his brain."

"I'm sorry to have disappointed you," Love quipped back.

"So am I."

With a sudden whisper, Shihouin Yoruichi appeared behind Love, her limbs engulfed in the bright white light of _shunkou. _She was extremely close to the Vizard, her powerful leg bent back and ready to snap forward at his skull. Hiyori saw her and reached down for her zanpakuto, but she wasn't going to be fast enough. Any hope of her out-maneuvering the Goddess of Flash was non-existent the moment that Yoruichi had shown up.

Love spun around quickly, slamming his massive cudgel into Yoruichi's body. With a surprised grunt, the dark-skinned Shinigami went flying down the street, a trail of dark blood following her body through the falling rain. Urahara's breath caught in his throat and he found that his legs refused to move. He watched as Yoruichi's limp body slammed against the asphalt once gravity took hold of her, her skin skidding across the street as the momentum continued to drag her over the road. His feet were suddenly free from the ground as his clogs carried him over the rain-soaked ground.

_Tengemaru _suddenly crashed down in front of him, the giant club creating a spider-web of fissures in the street below. Urahara looked over at Love, the Vizard having donned his mask once more. Kisuke narrowed his eyes and gripped onto the handle of his zanpakuto, hoping that his wet face didn't look as panicked as he felt. Love stood stone-still as he returned the glare; Urahara had very little desire to fight the Vizard head on, but he wasn't about to stand trapped while Yoruichi was dying in the streets.

"Don't worry," Hiyori said as she appeared next to Love and pulled her mask over her face, "I'll take care of _her."_

"No," Love said as he grasped onto the lapel of Hiyori's red track jacket. He turned his attention back to Urahara. His eyes narrowed within the small ocular openings of his mask before he suddenly lifted the massive weapon up from the ground. He slung it back over his shoulder and pulled his mask off, once more exposing his face to the rain.

"Go ahead and get her," he said, his eyes burning with a cold gravity. "But the two of you need to leave Japan. _Now_."

Despite all of the questions that were running through Urahara's mind, nothing seemed more important that getting to Yoruichi's side. Without a second glance at the two Vizards, he launched himself down the street. Within a flash he was next to her, his eyes trailing over the puncture wounds in her flesh caused by the pikes that stuck out of the sides of _Tengumaru._ Her breathing was labored as she attempted to refill her diaphragm with air. Urahara smiled weakly as he realized that she was only a little winded; the shielding that her _shunkou _had provided had turned a life-threatening attack into a few broken ribs.

"Come on, Yoruichi," he said sadly as he picked her battered body up from the floor, his head turning to look over his shoulder at the burning plot of land that he'd once called his home.

"It's time to go."

* * *

Kira Izuru walked forward slowly, the hooked blade of _Wabisuke _dragging along the ground as he approached the kneeling Arrancar in front of him.

He'd been waiting silently within the halls of the fifth division, his senses tuned for even the slightest change in the Seireitei's spiritual pressure. He'd immediately felt as Captains Komamura and Kyoraku had confronted the _Primera _Espada. He'd felt the tug in his concentration when Ikkaku had begun his battle with the _Terceira _Espada, but he'd remained still. He'd also held his ground, albeit painfully, when he felt Ikkaku fall and Captain Kuchiki join the front.

It wasn't until he'd felt Hitsugaya Toshirou die that he'd decided to leave his post and make his way into the war that was waging within Soul Society. He'd leapt up from his meditative position on the floor of the fifth's training room, his senses heightened as he ran through the halls of his former division.

He'd made it all the way to the streets of Seireitei, his feet ready to leap into _shunpo, _when he'd felt Nemu's _reiatsu _swell in the fourth division. His heart had stopped almost as fast as his feet as he turned his head towards the neighboring buildings. He'd forced himself to calm down a moment before he did anything rash; he'd elected Nemu as his lieutenant for a reason and he needed to remember that. As opposed to the rumors that had spread immediately after her transfer into his division, her position hadn't been because they were sleeping together. While the majority of Soul Society had assumed that she was only lieutenant of the twelfth because of her father, she was more than capable of outclassing practically _any _other lieutenant within the Thirteen Squads, Yumichika withstanding.

But when he'd felt the presence of an Espada-level Arrancar alongside of her, his faith waivered. He _knew _that she would probably be able to handle her own against an Espada, but…

What would he do if he left and she didn't survive? Hitsugaya was already dead and Hinamori had probably already joined him. He had no reason to leave Nemu unassisted so that he could make his way towards the twelfth.

He'd quickly turned on his heels and sped forwards towards the fourth division, his feet carrying him as fast as they could. He didn't want to break into _shunpo_with such a small distance left to travel towards his destination; raising his spiritual pressure would also bring the chance of his presence being noticed before he arrived. While he'd never truly agreed with most of Soi Fon's viewpoints, he had to admit that she had a solid line of reasoning behind her message to the corp: _if you can sneak up on your opponent and take his life, you will become the victor that much sooner_.

As he turned a corner in the streets of Soul Society, a massive blast of blue energy erupted into the sky directly above the fourth division. It only took Kira a moment to realize that it belonged to Ishida Uryuu, the Quincy that had been recovering in the fourth division. Kira burst through the fourth division, his pace slowing slightly as he felt the _reiatsu_of the Arrancar dissipate.

Kira entered the courtyard just as Szayel-Aporro Granz erupted from the smoke behind Ishida, ramming his fist through the human's torso and splattering Nemu's face with viscera. He watched in silent horror as the Arrancar wriggled his fingers from the other side of the Quincy's chest, slowly taunting the stunned duo with his perverse movements. He suddenly reached up and snapped Ishida's neck, causing Kira to wince slightly despite himself.

The former Espada casually let the dead man fall from his forearm before taking a few slow and menacing steps towards Nemu. It was then that Kira had snapped into action, his _shikai_slicing against the Arrancar's wings and pinning him to the ground below. Kira quickly placed himself between Nemu and the adversary, turning his blade upside down as he started to approach the Arrancar.

"Do you have any final words," he asked as his zanpakuto dragged against the rubble at his feet, "Arrancar?"

"Who the hell are you?" Szayel-Aporro hissed, his smile remaining despite his amber eyes glancing at the deadly blade that was nearing his throat.

"Kira Izuru," he replied shortly as he slid the square hook up against the Arrancar's neck, perfectly framing his head. "Captain of the third division."

"How sweet," Szayel-Aporro responded menacingly as he vanished in a burst of _sonído, _leaving a pair of severed wings to lay pinned down and bleeding on the ground. He quickly appeared behind Kira, the remaining wings on his left side reaching out and swallowing the Shinigami whole.

"But I'm afraid…" the Arrancar hissed as Kira struggled against the chemicals that now engulfed his body, the sacs of the Espada's wings tearing at him as they cloned his organs. "…that I'm not afraid of sacrificing a part of my body to remove the weight that your zanpakuto has placed upon me."

With a visceral splatter, Kira was ejected from Szayel-Aporro's constriction. He gasped for breath as the viscous slime of the Arrancar's _resurrección_sloughed from his body and the Espada reached his hand out to catch the small babushka doll that his wings spat out into his hand. The pink-haired Hollow held it up and twisted the toy in half, reaching in and removing a tiny piece from within it.

"Let's see here, Shinigami," he said as he held up a small lavender jewel labeled _riñones._"The kidneys! I wonder how you'll react once I crush one of _these_?"

With a snap of his long and violet fingers, the miniature representation of Kira's guts shattered into a trillion pieces. The Shinigami immediately doubled over in pain as thick, scarlet blood expelled itself from his mouth. Kira looked up with a grimace as Szayel-Aporro Granz ginned and reached his thin fingers into the bowels of the voodoo doll once more, extracting yet another vital organ.

With a flash, Nemu appeared next to the Arrancar, her hand reaching out to snatch the small likeness of her lover away. Her hand gripped it as she followed through with her leap, the Arrancar's amber eyes widening in surprise as she vanished once more. He turned towards the Shinigami captain, slowly realizing that he was at a sudden disadvantage.

"You said earlier…" Kira said as he struggled to stand, the pain in his lower back erupting violently and spreading at this movement, "…that you wouldn't mind sacrificing a part of your body to escape my zanpakuto's weight manipulation.

"What are you going to do when my powers engulf all of you?"

Kira jutted his hand out quickly, his _reiatsu _swelling as the flat edge of his square-blade faced the shocked Espada.

"_Bankai," _Kira said calmly as he ignored the blood that still trickled from his lips. "_Juuryokuhitsugi Wabisuke."_

Kira's zanpakuto glowed a shade of deep green before splitting into two separate entities; one remained in his hand as a regular _katana, _and the other forming a large rectangle in front of him. The shape stretched and spread until it loomed over their heads, Szayel-Aporro being forced to look up to see the top edge of the opaque structure.

A field of energy quickly spread out from the dark block, the deep viridian forming a dome as it engulfed Szayel-Aporro. He suddenly felt his entire body fall to the floor as the gravity within the green environment increased drastically. A tendril of _reiatsu _snaked down from the roof of the dome and wrapped itself around the Arrancar's neck, the tentacle lifting his head up as if it were weightless. Szayel-Aporro suddenly found himself trapped, his neck outstretched and awaiting an execution.

Kira calmly stepped into the semi-sphere, his body obviously unaffected by the increase in weight. He slowly held the tip of his _katana_to Szayel-Aporro's throat, the sharp point of the zanpakuto pressing against his Adam's-apple. His amber eyes strained against the field of his vision to see his Shinigami opponent, the green irises of the captain looking down at him without compassion.

"The monolith you see before you," Kira began, the edge of his blade sliding up against the flesh of the Arrancar's throat before he lifted it away and let it hover above his neck, "consumes everything within a twelve yard radius. Within this sphere _Wabisuke _is a goddess; her manipulation of gravity is inescapable."

Szayel-Aporro's eyes widened in fear as his body grew heavier still, his shoulders popping against the new pressure as the noose that kept his neck aloft tightened. _Wabisuke_rested gently against his shoulders. He gazed up at the Shinigami before him, his amber eyes looking for mercy where there was none. The edge of Kira Izuru's zanpakuto removed itself from the back of his neck as it reared back for a killing blow, his melancholic emerald eyes regarding the Hollow coldly.

"Shoot her to death," a snide voice called out from outside the _bankai's _dome. "_Shinsou."_

With a flash of light, Kurotsuchi Nemu flew backwards, a long swath of steel suddenly jetting out from her chest. Kira turned to face her, time passing slowly as he saw his lover pinned up against a nearby wall, her violet eyes dark and vacant as blood spilled from her lips.

"_Nemu!" _he yelled, his _bankai _dissipating as he rushed towards her limp body, pinned against the wall. The long blade suddenly retracted from her sternum, leaving Nemu to slump lifelessly against the corner of the wall and floor of the fourth division's courtyard. After a run that seemed to take eons, Kira reached her body, immediately cradling it within his arms, rocking her back and forth as if it was going to somehow pump vitality back into her dead veins.

"Szayel-Aporro," Ichimaru Gin said through a grin, his eyes regarding the almost felled Espada through tiny slits. "It's a pleasure to see you back within the ranks."

"O-of course," Szayel-Aporro replied nervously, his golden eyes regarding his savior wearily. "Ichimaru-sama."

"Get lost," Gin said flippantly, his hand waving in the air as he turned his attention to Kira's mourning. "Barragan is waiting to take you back to _Las Noches."_

"Yes sir!" Szayel-Aporro barked as he stood from his weakened position and vanished in _sonído._

Gin turned towards Kira, his smile widening at the sight of his former lieutenant's suffering. He took a few steps forward, his feet slowly and eventually reaching the mourning body of his old protégé. He looked down, his ever-present grin faltering slightly as he watched Kira weep silently over the dead woman in his arms.

"She's dead," he said softly, his hand sliding the _wakizashi _back into its scabbard. "There's no point in cryin' about it."

Gin turned away suddenly, his feet shuffling slightly as he made his way out of the courtyard. He stopped slowly as he turned his head over his shoulder to look at Kira, his grin stretching as happily as it could.

"Let's go, Izuru," he said pleasantly, his voice hanging in the air sweetly as he began walking away once more. He stopped suddenly as he realized that Kira was still hunched over his dead lover, his body paralyzed with the shock and confusion of loss. Gin's smile melted into a frown as he looked back at the blonde-haired Shinigami once more.

"_Let's go,"_he said sternly, his voice oozing out over the courtyard. _"Izuru."_

Kira stood, his body rising in an absent-minded haze. He glanced over Nemu's body once more, his eyes gleaming with restrained and unshed tears, before he turned and followed Ichimaru Gin through the desolate courtyard of the fourth division.

* * *

"Next dance," Rukia called out as she swung her zanpakuto forward, a massive wave of ice tearing across the _Sexta _Espada's hall. _"Hakuren!"_

Renji's dark eyes followed the attack as it coursed over the tiles that covered floor of the massive room, the surge of frigid energy plowing towards the enormous released state of Rudobón. The Espada's _resurrección_ had turned his once tree-like form into a twisting network of ivory branches and vines; the entire back half of the room was now a skeletal jungle, its branches ripe with an eternally replenishing army.

Renji turned away as Rukia's attack was blocked, a small phalanx of Rudobón's _Calaveras_sacrificing itself so that the wave of ice wouldn't strike their place of origin. The first time that they'd fought this Arrancar, Rukia had discovered that attacking his branches would halt the production ofhis seemingly infinite army. Unfortunately, with his re-exposure to the _hogyouku, _Rudobón had tripled in size and his wave of warriors was willing to stop any and all attacks that threatened their place of origin.

Renji – no longer focused on his companion's failed attack – whipped his arm forward, the massive serpent-like form of his _bankai_ tearing through a wave of the _Calaveras. _With a well-practiced flick of his wrist, the skeletal snake straightened out, its mouth opening with a loud hiss as its fangs pointed at another collection of the soldiers.

"_Hikoutsu," _Renji growled as the faux-Arrancar began to scurry out of the way, "_Taihou!"_

An enormous cannon of red energy erupted from the wide jaws of the skeletal snake, its red mane blowing back at the force of the powerful attack. The crimson cannon swiftly engulfed the whole crowd of attackers, Renji's eyes squinting against the hot light as their thin bodies evaporated under the strength of the attack.

A trio of the small Hollows suddenly appeared behind him, a triplet of raised _katana_threatening to rain down upon him. Renji quickly leapt backwards, gaining only a thin slice as opposed to the fatal gash he could have received. He quickly whipped his _bankai _forward, _Hihiou Zabimaru _slamming into the three attackers, splitting their bony bodies in half.

With a weak gasp, he sank to his knees. Despite his exhaustion, he and Rukia were truly only sustaining superficial wounds. The onslaught of attackers was beginning to take its hold on them, however. He reached a hand up to the newly formed cut in his chest, one of many that now adorned his body. His blood was merely trickling out from the wound. That was good; the last thing he needed was a deep gash to add to his fatigue.

"Renji!" Rukia called out to him, her violet eyes wide at the sight of him on his knees. He stood up almost immediately in an attempt to calm her worries, hoping that she wouldn't take her concentration off of the miniature army that surrounded them. His wish was soon denied to him as a small swarm of _Calaveras_ took the opportunity to attack their opponent while her back was turned.

"Rukia!" Renji yelled, his feet beginning to sprint towards her.

Rukia turned in time to slide her lithe body out of the way of the first of the Hollows' strikes, but the second sword wound up going through her shoulder. She hissed in pain as the blade erupted out of her back, her left shoulder-blade splitting in half as the _katana _tore through it. With a quick stab, she pierced through the _Calavera _that had wounded her, _Sode no Shirayuki _glowing white as it came out her opponent's back.

"First dance," she said as she thrust herself off of the Hollow's sword, "_Tsukishiro!"_

A massive column of ice erupted skyward at her command, freezing five of the Espada's soldiers within its pillar. Rukia immediately ran along the side of the frozen pillar, her feet carrying her small body up into the air. She quickly did a back-flip off of the structure, her feet and her head switching positions as she looked downwards at another wave of enemies.

"Second dance," she called out, thrusting the tip of her zanpakuto downwards, "_Hakuren!"_

Another blast of frigid energy shot forth at her command, the wave of ice crashing through two groupings of _Calaveras _on its way to the ground. Renji was forced to leap into the air as an ocean of frozen water spread out over the ground, freezing several of the small Hollows as it extended along the floor. She landed softly atop the frozen glacier that her _shikai_had produced, Renji soon falling next to her.

"Not bad, Shinigami," Rudobón called out from his place among the forest, his body hanging within a web of ivory vines. "It seems as though you can handle yourselves a tad better than the last time we met."

"Tch," Renji spat, his lips curving up in a grimace. "If you think that these soldiers of yours are enough to get rid of us, you're one _hell_ of a dumbass."

"Is that so?" Rudobón asked derisively as a handful of his branches dipped low, a new brood of _Calaveras _emerging from the buds that lined the limbs of the pale tree. "I see."

Renji quickly flung his _bankai _towards these new opponents. The skeletal snake within his hands passed through empty air, however, causing his dark eyes to widen in shock. The new phalanx suddenly appeared behind Rukia and himself as another brood was born in front of them, effectively encircling the two Shinigami.

"_Cero," _Rudobón said calmly, the circle of soldiers each jutting a hand out at his command.

Two dozen _cero _shot forth, filling the room with a bright red light. Each of the blasts connected in the center and erupted up and outwards in a massive explosion. The large hall was soon filled with smoke as pieces of tile fell from the air and debris settled to the ground. A harsh beam of light suddenly broke through into the room as the nearby wall collapsed, exposing the artificial sunlight through the massive fissure in the concrete.

As the smoke settled, an ivory-colored pyramid appeared through the debris, the white coils of _Hihiou Zabimaru _spiraling upwards in a protective cocoon. Rudobón's eyes narrowed within his mask as he saw that his massive attack had failed, the captain's _bankai _having protected the two Shinigami from certain death.

The shield of bone suddenly cracked and fell apart, each of the large segments falling down into a pile of broken ivory. The two Shinigami within it were soon exposed to the circle of _Calaveras, _both of the soul reapers panting and struggling for breath.

_Shit, _Renji thought as he fell to his knees in exhaustion, his _bankai _falling apart alongside him. _I'm done - I'm _done_. I don't have enough strength to keep _Zabimaru _together; how the _hell _am I supposed to fight this guy and win?_

He looked over at Rukia, noticing how her body was shaking, both with exhaustion and the loss of blood that the wound in her shoulder had caused. His eyes drifted down from her violet irises to the hole that marred her chest. Despite her effective counter-attack, the fistula within her flesh was obviously far more painful than she'd let on; the wound was already starting to tax her beyond words. He frowned slightly as he turned his head towards her.

"Rukia," Renji whispered, keeping his eyes trained on the Espada in front of them. "Do me a favor?"

"What?" she asked between labored breaths.

"I need you to run."

He could tell that his words had hit her hard. Her eyes flew open at the command, her violet irises glaring at him incredulously. Her lips parted to speak, but the words failed to fall from her mouth. He took this fortuitous chance to continue.

"We've been fighting this guy for thirty minutes already," he hissed through tired lips, his dark irises finally glancing over to her. "You _know_ that we can't beat him. Leave me here to fight; _you _need to get away."

"Renji," Rukia said with an air of anguish, her brows tightening over her eyes. "How _dare_ you ask me to leave you to—"

"_Rukia," _he hissed to cut her off, feeling himself grow weaker by the second. He looked at her face, the heart-shaped point of her jaw beginning to quiver as she understood what he was getting at. She was starting to tear up as she understood that he wasn't going to take no for an answer, her eyelids shaking as she struggled to look at him.

"Renji," she began, her lips shaking as his name spilled out from them. "I can't go—"

He cut her off with a kiss, his lips pressing against hers with the repressed passion of over two hundred years. She immediately returned the action, her mouth moving on top of his with a feverous desire. He regretted that he'd never kissed her earlier; her instant reaction to his kiss letting him know that she'd been waiting for him to finally make his move. They remained locked together for what felt to Renji like an eternity, his heart swelling within his chest as he tasted her tongue against his.

He finally broke himself away from her, the anguish of the action striking painfully at his soul, knowing that this would be both their first and last kiss. Her eyes were brimming with tears as she looked at him, the violet orbs swimming out at him through thick emotions. He could feel his own cheeks heat up as warm streaks of water spilled down them, the tears slowly dripping from his chin.

"_Go," _he whispered at her, hoping with all his heart that she would follow his command, hoping with all of his soul that she would stay by his side.

When she remained next to him, he clenched his jaw and glared at her, his cheeks reddening as another string of tears began to course down them.

"_Rukia!" _he yelled, his eyelids squeezing together tightly as he barked at her. "_Go!"_

With a whisper, Kuchiki Rukia vanished. Through a fuzz of sound, he heard her call out some random _hadou _spell as she made her escape. He felt her _reiatsu _fade, his mouth turning up in a remorseful smile as he painfully rejoiced in her freedom. He slowly opened his eyelids, the remaining tears blurring his vision as he blinked to clear them.

"I don't see how that was a smart idea, Shinigami," Rudobón said from across the room, his vacant eyes looking down upon the shattered form of Renji's _bankai. _"If you ask me, the more help you could have, the better."

Renji sneered up at the Espada, the last of his tears drying on the skin of his cheeks as his mouth curved up into a vicious smirk.

_Sorry about this,_ Zabimaru_, _he thought, addressing his zanpakuto's spirit as his _reiatsu _began to swell.

_No, _the zanpakuto replied, speaking to him for the first time in almost a decade. _It's about damn time, Renji._

_Tch, _he thought as he glared at the Arrancar in front of him. _The first time you talk to me in ages and _that's _the response I get?_

_Well, _Zabimaru responded, the twin voices of both baboon and serpent reaching Renji's ears. _This is the first time you've actually deserved a response._

_"_Fair enough_,_" Renji whispered through a smirk as he leapt forward, his body vanishing in a flash of _shunpo._

_Rukia._

Renji quickly appeared before the Espada, his sudden proximity to the Arrancar stunning his opponent. Rudobón's head snapped back in shock as Renji wrapped both of his arms around the Hollow's torso.

_Renji, let's become Shinigami._

Renji could smell the stink of his undead opponent as he gripped his body as close to the Arrancar as he could, ensuring that his opponent couldn't escape his clutches. His _reiatsu _swelled once more, an aura of red surrounding their bodies as he grinned up at Rudobón's lifeless face.

_That's great Rukia! Once you become a Kuchiki, you'll be a noble!_

"_Higa…" _Renji growled as the Espada struggled under his grasp, Rudobón's eyes becoming visible within his mask as they widened in fear, "_Zekkou!"_

_Thank you… Renji._

Renji's eyes squeezed shut in pain as he felt the first of Zabimaru's spikes pierce him, the first of the massive pikes of his _bankai _tearing through his flesh. He forced his eyelids open just in time to see another of _Zabimaru's_segments ram its way through Rudobón's back, the tip of the spear ramming into his stomach. Renji held the Arrancar tightly as the rest of the sacrificial attack completed, each of the spikes taking their turn to rip through flesh.

_Stay out of it. Stay out of her way._

He fell backwards, his arms too weak to hold onto the Arrancar any longer. His eyes glanced over to his right as he hit the ground, a frail smile reaching his face as he watched the Espada vanish into nothingness. His attention was soon upon the tall ceiling of the room, his vision growing dark around the edges as he struggled for breath. _Zabimaru's _final attack had impaled both him and Rudobón over a dozen times; Renji held no illusion that he was going to survive. He saw no bright lights as his vision faded to black, no tunnel of hope in the center of his vacant vision.

The only thing he could see was a single small star that drifted slowly into his outstretched hands, his palms cupping the snowflake as if it were made of the finest china. He looked at it sadly, his dull eyes tearing up once more as he pulled in his final breath and his head rested back against the broken concrete of the floor of _Las Noches._

_Rukia…

* * *

_

_**author's note**_

_;_;_

_**reviews **__are always appreciated. we're reaching the end here; __**reviews **__only make me write faster._

_keepin' it real,_

_jta~!_

_**one girl in all the world - the wingless**_


	23. Gasoline Dreams

_**Gasoline Dreams**_

"This…" Ayasegawa Yumichika said through clenched teeth and labored breaths as his body dodged through the streets of Karakura, "…is fuckin' bullshit."

The pair of green dumpsters next to him suddenly exploded as a _cero _descended upon them, missing the Shinigami by a hair's width before incinerating the metal containers. Yumichika rolled to the side as the Arrancar's blast extinguished upon the concrete, the sleeves of his black _kimono_ sizzling from the heat. With a quick twist of his body, he spun himself off the concrete and quickly launched into the air at his Arrancar attacker.

He immediately swung forward with his four-bladed _shikai _as he reached his desired altitude, Charlotte Cuuhlhourne barely dodging the swift strike. Unlike the last time the duo had fought one another, Yumichika was finding that his initial release was faring rather well against the prissy Arrancar. Whereas the Hollow had practically swatted the scythes away in irritation twenty-five years ago, the quadruple sickles had already opened up numerous trenches in the Arrancar's skin, staining his white uniform red.

Which was not to say that the lieutenant was unscathed – quite the contrary; Yumichika had found himself dodging and narrowly avoiding almost every attack that Charlotte had sent his way. He was still in one piece, physically, but he could feel that his endurance was beginning to falter.

Yumichika suddenly vanished, whispering back into existence directly behind his startled opponent. The Shinigami brought his blades slashing downwards, but the _Octava _Espada was able to move at the last second, turning a possibly lethal strike into a shallow cut that extended across his exposed stomach. Charlotte skidded backwards on one foot, his heel digging into the air beneath it. After a quick glance down at his fresh wound, his large lips formed an insincere pout.

"Your sense of style may not have gotten any better," the Arrancar snickered, "but your abilities have improved greatly since we last met. You can actually hurt me now."

"That means a lot," Yumichika quipped back, slowly brushing some his jet-black hair back behind his right ear. "Considering that it's a compliment coming from such an ugly ol' queen, I'll be sure to file it in the 'treasured moments' section of my memories."

"Wow," Charlotte replied coolly, the insult flitting past him as harmlessly as a butterfly, "those are some big words for such a tiny, little _twink."_

Yumichika had prided himself on keeping his temperamental outbursts contained during the past few decades. His fling with Rukia and his duties as a lieutenant had all but quashed the sense of narcissism that he'd harbored for his entire afterlife. Not that it was gone, per se; he was still very much prideful of his looks, and he always made sure to maintain an air of beauty in everything that surrounded him. He'd simply focused his energies on other issues and hadn't quite taken the time to be a prissy-boy anymore.

However, the old insult that Charlotte had shot his way seemed to snap something inside him, his pent-up pride swelling like a riverbed after the breaking of a dam. With a feral snarl, Yumichika launched himself forward and swung his blade down into his opponent's, causing the Arrancar's eyes to widen under a shower of sparks.

"Who are _you_ callin' a _twink?"_Yumichika hissed through gritted teeth, forcing his foe down through the air, "You big-nosed hag!" He thrust a foot forward, slamming a kick into Charlotte's chest and sending the Arrancar plummeting into the earth below. The Shinigami quickly shot downwards, almost immediately closing the gap between the fallen Espada and himself.

"_Hadou_number sixty-three," Yumichika called as he hovered above the crater in which Charlotte was buried, "_Raikouhou!"_

A massive wave of yellow energy plummeted downwards at the scar in the earth below, engulfing the hole within a web of lightning. Yumichika quickly darted back, placing some distance between the two of them as he struggled to catch his breath. Once he'd been given the "go-ahead" to use the demon-arts within the eleventh division, he'd immediately set upon the task. He figured that with a _kidou-_based zanpakuto, he'd be an utter natural at the spells; this was, unfortunately, not the case. He'd constantly found himself below the skill-level of the other lieutenants, and as a member of the ever-competitive eleventh division, he couldn't allow himself to fall behind any further. So he continued to strive beyond his means, forcing spells out of himself that would completely drain him of his energy despite the risks that were involved.

Combine that with the fatigue he already felt from his battle with the _Octava,_and he was practically on the verge of collapse.

"_Ultimate Technique,"_a voice rang out from the wreckage, dispelling all of Yumichika's hopes at a premature victory, "_Beautiful Charlotte Cuuhlhourne's Holy Wonderful, Pretty Super-Magnum, Sexy-Sexy Glamorous Cero!"_

Despite the extra time that the incredulously long incantation granted him, Yumichika was too close to the source of the attack and couldn't completely dodge out of the way. The violet, heart-shaped _cero _roared upwards from the cloud of smoke on the ground, plowing into the thin Shinigami. Yumichika was immediately sent spiraling towards the ground, a trail of smoke following him as the robes covering his chest smoldered into nothingness.

He quickly flipped himself off of the asphalt, his exposed torso now marred with fresh scrapes and burns as he ran towards a nearby wall. He leapt up and planted both feet flat against the brick building, his left hand reaching down to grip the rain-pipe that ran down the side of the structure. He suddenly leapt backwards, pulling the gutter away from the wall as he swung it outwards. The lead cylinder arced through the air, connecting with the Espada's skull at the precise moment that he drifted out of the smoke below.

Yumichika immediately launched himself forward as Charlotte Cuuhlhourne attempted to snap himself out of the shock he was currently in; the Arrancar wasn't even expecting his Shinigami opponent to have recovered from the _cero_, much less to have procured a lead pipe to use as a weapon. The lieutenant was already in front of the Espada, his four scythes raking a vicious swath down the chest of the Arrancar. Charlotte's eyes widened in surprise and pain as he stumbled backwards through the air, his hand reaching up and touching the blood that was now coursing its way down his flesh.

Yumichika's feet also faltered beneath him, his footing in the air slipping for a split second as he attempted to regain his depleted breath. His violet eyes stared forward at Charlotte coolly, watching for a sign of the next attack. The Espada brought his large palm down from the slash in his skin, glancing down at the blood before steadying his eyes forward on Yumichika.

"How repulsive," he said calmly, ignoring the blood that was leaking from the fresh wound on his temple caused by the pipe, "I always _said _that you had an ugly heart, Shinigami. It's quite refreshing to see that I was right."

"Tch," Yumichika scoffed, his grip tightening upon his zanpakuto as his opponent's _reiatsu_began to increase. "Just like all of your insults, this one stems from your jealousy. In fact," he continued, his petty persona once more coming to the fore, "your defeat simply means that I will always be more beautiful than you."

"Defeat?" Charlotte asked as Yumichika stood confidently across from him. "I wouldn't count on it, you little shit! Sparkle," he called out angrily, "_Reina de Rosas!"_

Yumichika gritted his teeth together as an explosive swell of spiritual energy rushed forward, the blast threatening to push him backwards. He knew that _Reina de Rosas_ would dramatically increase the Arrancar's speed and strength, so he immediately put himself on guard for a strong offensive.

His preemptive defense proved to be a prudent decision as Charlotte burst forward out of the smoke and attempted to plunge his hand into Yumichika's gut. The Shinigami immediately swung down with his zanpakuto and blocked the strike, causing Charlotte's hand to miss his body completely. The Arrancar quickly countered with his other fist, gripping Yumichika's throat tightly with his bronze fingers. Charlotte's leg rocketed skyward then, the heel of his right foot catching Yumichika square in the jaw. The Shinigami flipped backwards as his teeth clamped down on his tongue, the fleshy muscle in his mouth tearing as his head snapped backwards and dark blood splattered out from his lips.

Charlotte Cuuhlhourne wasted little time in following through, immediately appearing in a buzz of _sonído_to attack once more. He thrust another kick forward at Yumichika's upside-down body, looking to once more plant his heel into the Shinigami's chest. Ayasegawa managed to cross his arms in a feeble X-shaped block as the blow connected, saving his ribcage from the strike as he felt his left forearm shatter under the attack.

_What the fuck? _Yumichika thought as he hit the ground. _How can his attacks be_t his _much stronger? Can the hogyouku really-?_

Charlotte was already in front of him, a _bala _screaming through the air. Yumichika once more attempted to block the attack, but it only resulted in sparing his life as he was sent plowing into the concrete below. He hissed as he struggled to bring himself back to his feet, his vision completely blurred as he heard the Espada in land gently in front of him.

"_Rosa Blanca," _Charlotte said lethally. Yumichika's vision began to return just in time to watch as the afternoon sky above him was eclipsed by the ominous brambles of the _Octava's _final attack. His eyes were still struggling to focus as a blurry circle of white appeared before him; he immediately recognized this as the Arrancar's white rose of death. He hadn't yet seen the damage it could do, but he wasn't about to allow the Espada to use it. He was done fighting now; after seeing the power jump that Charlotte had gained from the _hogyouku_, he had little desire to allow the Espada to make the most of this advantage. He jabbed out with his zanpakuto, his _reiatsu _surging in a dense green aura.

"_Bankai," _he yelled, the green and blue energy swiftly engulfing his arms, "_Jinkininki Kujaku!"_

His body was immediately transformed into a luminous mass of green and aquamarine, the outline of his body blurring into the realm of the nebulous as his _bankai _appeared. Despite the fact that he hated the ugly and feral nature of his zanpakuto's final attack, he couldn't deny for a second that it was practically unbeatable. As the effects of his _bankai _took hold of the Shinigami's body, he launched himself forward in an attempt to siphon the energy from his opponent in an unrelenting attack. He'd left Charlotte Cuuhlhourne alive the last time; he wouldn't be so naïve as to make that same mistake twice.

He rushed forward, his arms morphing into tendrils of teal energy as they wrapped around the body of the Arrancar. The tentacles quickly pierced the iron _hierro_of the Espada, plunging deep into his flesh as they began to suck his life-force out from the depths of his soul. Yumichika smirked from within the green shield of his _bankai _as he watched his opponent begin to weaken, his own strength returning to him as he suckled from the Arrancar's.

"_Rosa Blanca: Floración-" _Charlotte called out through labored breaths as Yumichika's _bankai_sapped him of his strength, "_Zarzas Negro!"_

The cage of black suddenly began to implode as a wave of thorns descended upon the Shinigami within. The barbed vines quickly surrounded Yumichika, piercing his otherwise impenetrable flesh. Within the protective glow of his _bankai,_Yumichika gasped in shock; he'd never before seen a technique that could take his corporeal form and completely stop it. For the first time within this battle, Yumichika began to feel worried. Even when he was being dominated the powerful Arrancar, he knew that he could pull out his _bankai _and win within seconds. It was his ace in the hole.

Now, as a pair of black brambles shot out from the cage and lanced through his body, causing excruciating pain as his torso was pierced by the thick and thorny barbs, he began to feel afraid.

"Were you expecting me to forget about your technique?" Charlotte asked as Yumichika remained pinned. "This _bankai _of yours is nothing more than a bigger version of your _shikai. _It's nothing I can't handle."

As if to punctuate his question, three more spires of thorns shot out from the cage that surrounded the pair of fighters. Yumichika yelled out in pain as his _bankai_dissipated from around his body and the last of his strength sloughed from his body. Going _bankai _had already taxed him more than intended; he'd never expected for his seemingly impervious final attack to be countered, so he had given his all in the process of forming his offense. Now he found himself trapped upon the Arrancar's skewers, his violet eyes glaring forward in arrogance despite his painfully hopeless situation.

The white rose that adorned the ceiling of the dark dome of foliage suddenly began emanating a harsh white light, the corona that would have naturally spread throughout the black hemisphere condensing upon the central point of the flower. The luminous orb swelled for a moment longer before shooting forth at Yumichika in a white beam, the dagger of photons spearing through his chest in a painful blast. The Shinigami screamed out as he felt his soul being ripped apart from the center of this ray of light.

And then everything went dark again.

Yumichika could barely hear Charlotte chuckling as he struggled to lift his head. His eyelids were fluttering weakly as he watched the Arrancar approach him, the white uniform the only thing he could make out through the blurry film of fatigue that covered his eyeballs.

"You caught me by surprise when we first fought," Charlotte said as reality began to spin for Yumichika, "so I never got the opportunity to use my power to its full extent."

Through the haze, Yumichika could feel as the Arrancar grew closer to him. He could smell the Hollow, his skin giving off a faint mix of roses and yeast, the combination reaching his nostrils in a sickening blend that reminded him of the sour/sweet smell of day-old vomit.

"But I must commend you," Charlotte said as he slowly approached his captive opponent, the distance between the two of them shrinking quickly. "While your heart may be ugly…"

Suddenly Charlotte Cuuhlhourne was upon him, his body pressing against Yumichika's as he mashed his thick lips against the Shinigami's, his calloused hands rubbing along the Shinigami's broken and naked torso. Yumichika's eyes widened in shock and disgust as his stomach churned within his belly, the Hollow's tongue pressing against his tightly pursed lips in an aggressive attempt at a kiss. Charlotte pulled away, leaving Yumichika helplessly revolted as he continued to speak, his eyes glancing over the limp body of his captive.

"…your skin is as beautiful as the fresh snow."

With that, the effeminate Arrancar released him, allowing the Shinigami to fall freely to the ground. With a sickening crunch, Yumichika's body slammed into the sidewalk below, pain exploding in his skull as his forehead opened up above his left eye.

"Just as you showed me mercy, Shinigami," Charlotte spoke out from above him, his tongue slithering out from between his teeth as it flicked at the large mole on his lower lip, "I will allow you to go free . Try and stay alive, if you can."

With a harsh buzz, Charlotte Cuuhlhourne vanished in a burst of _sonído,_leaving Yumichika alone and bleeding upon the street. With a groan, the Shinigami dragged himself onto the sidewalk and turned over, his vision returning to him slightly as he groaned in pain and disgust. Tears began to well at the corners of his eyes, his rage and humiliation finally overwhelming him. He tried to scream, but the only thing that escaped his lips was a pitiful groan as his vision cleared and he could suddenly see the lonely clouds above him.

* * *

Rukia fell to her knees as she hit the sand outside of Rudobón's room. She was shaking and panting, knowing that Renji was still back there, sacrificing his life to make sure that she lived. She wanted to turn back and help him, but she also knew that she would be useless in the fight. Rukia didn't even know if Renji could find a way to kill the _Sexta_ Espada, much less emerge from that battle as the victor.

Her eyes began to burn with tears as the realization that Abarai Renji, her oldest companion and first love, was going to die.

The rest of her body fell to the ground, Rukia cursing herself as she began to weep in self-pity. She hated that she couldn't get up and get back to his side and help him; she hated that he had made the ultimate sacrifice and all she could do was crumple into a sobbing and helpless ball.

_No, _she thought defiantly, digging her fingers into the hot desert floor as she struggled to push herself up from the pathetic position she'd curled herself into. _I am _not _going to let him die._

She was suddenly on her feet, the tears drying on her cheeks as she retraced her steps towards the _Sexta _Espada's pavilion. She gripped the handle of her zanpakuto tightly, causing the white steel to shake audibly as her feet pounded atop the warm sand dunes below her. She could still feel Renji's _reiatsu, _even if it was extremely faint as it wafted in from the distance.

An enormous Hollow suddenly erupted out of the ground, its hideous mask snarling down at her. She leapt up without even slowing her pace, the pale edge of her sword bifurcating the ivory face of the massive monster. She landed as another of the monsters appeared in front of her, causing her to snarl slightly as she prepared to attack it as well. In a sudden eruption of sand, however, three more of the giant beasts appeared and formed a circle around her. With a yell, she launched herself forward with reckless abandon, _Sode no Shirayuki's _edge gleaming violently in the bright sunlight.

One of the Hollows blindsided her, viciously slapping her petite body out of the air and into the sand below. The wind rushed painfully out of her lungs when she hit the ground, right her arm breaking as she landed awkwardly upon it. She quickly rolled onto her back, squinting her eyes as the bright sunlight drenched her face, her mind racing through the pain as she struggled to think and the group of monsters encircled her fallen body. She stared up in silent horror as the four towering shadows swallowed up her body.

And then she was in the sunlight again, the bodies of the giant Hollow melting and fluttering away one by one as they perished.

With a blink of surprise, Rukia forced herself to sit up and look around, her dark eyes looking for her unexpected savior. Her mouth curved up into a wide smile as she saw the green-haired Vizard standing off to the side, her masked face staring forward at the Espada's pavilion.

"Mashiro!" Rukia gasped in hope and happiness as she struggled to stand, placing the majority of her weight upon the _katana _in her left hand as she pushed herself to her feet. "Mashiro, we need to go get Renji! He's still fighting that Espada and… help…"

Mashiro turned her head slowly, her gloved fingers trailing lightly against the face of her mask, the ivory shield melting away at her touch. Rukia's words slowed in her mouth as she saw the normally vibrant and friendly eyes of Kuna Mashiro were now cold and steeled, the brown irises regarding Rukia coldly.

"Mashiro?" Rukia asked, stopping in her tracks as she reached the Vizard's side. "Is everything alright?"

The female Vizard suddenly lashed out with her arm, the side of her hand knifing into the Shinigami's neck, right beneath her left ear. Rukia's eyes immediately rolled up into the back of her head as her knees gave out, her body crumpling limply to the sand. Mashiro took a step towards her and looked down, a small curve if displeasure upon her lips.

"Sorry, Rukia-tan," she said as she reached down and grabbed onto the unconscious girl's body, hoisting it up and onto her shoulder before turning back to the Pavilion of the Espada. "But that's not in the plans."

* * *

"_Shit_," Ichigo hissed as he dragged himself out of the wreckage of a recently collapsed building. One that had been standing moments before Tesla had hurled his body into it. "_Shit, shit, shit."_

He stood on shaking legs as he raised his sword back up to a more level position. His arms were quivering as he pointed it at Tesla, the massive Arrancar's cold eye glaring down from behind a pair of vicious tusks. Ichigo still couldn't seem to bring the behemoth down; even after just landing a twin pair of black _Getsuga Tenshou, _the Espada was still attacking him with a seemingly endless level of vitality. Nothing that Ichigo had done up to this point had seemed to faze Tesla, and it was starting to make him feel a touch uncomfortable.

"Your arms are trembling," Tesla's deep voice boomed out from within his snout, "Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Yeah," Ichigo countered sardonically as he forced them to stop trembling and he straightened up as much as he could, puffing out his chest slightly. "That's from excitement; I'm about to kick your ass and my arms know it."

"Really?" Tesla asked before vanishing in a buzz, appearing directly in front of Ichigo. The Shinigami's chestnut-colored eyes widened as the Arrancar in front of him brought a massive fist over his head. "We'll see about that."

The giant hand came crashing down with tremendous speed, Ichigo barely being able to dodge the attack as it turned that particular section of the sidewalk into a pile of pebbles. He took off in a flash, hoping to place some distance between himself and the Arrancar and possibly fire off another black _Getsuga. _The sound of a _sonído _suddenly filled his ears as the gigantic frame of the Espada filled his peripheral vision. Ichigo snapped his head to the left, but the Arrancar had already sprung his assault; the back of Tesla's hand swung up from below and slapped the captain into the air.

"_Cero," _Tesla said calmly as he jutted both his hands forward, a red blast of energy rocketing out of the center of his palms. The twin _cero _roared into the sky, slightly overtaking the afternoon sun in brightness as they shot up towards the flailing Shinigami.

"_Getsuga Tenshou!" _Ichigo yelled as he swung the thin black blade of his _bankai _forward, the opaque wave of his attack splitting the Espada's _cero _into halves. Tesla quickly dodged out of the way, the blast obliterating the tip of his tail as it passed by. The Arrancar looked down at the burnt stub and growled.

Ichigo was already in front of him, the long black _katana _in his hands stabbing forward at Tesla's heart. The Espada grabbed at the attack, his massive fist gripping the blade and Ichigo's forearm. Ichigo cried out in agony as Tesla squeezed down mightily, his large palm mercilessly crushing the Shinigami's limb.

Tesla flung Ichigo back down, the black-clad warrior's body slamming into the concrete below. Ichigo coughed up a thick wad of blood as he bounced off the concrete, his eyes squeezing shut in agony before he fell back down to the sidewalk. He struggled to stand, the pain of a broken rib shooting throughout his body while he forced himself back to his feet.

_Let me out! _came the voice of his inner-hollow. _I can destroy this fucker and you know it!_

"Shut up," Ichigo growled, "We had a deal that I don't plan on breaking."

_But you're gonna fuckin' die, Ichigo! Let me out!_

Ichigo looked up in shock as Tesla landed in front of him. The Arrancar looked down at the frail Shinigami and chuckled slightly before becoming engulfed in a plume of yellow smoke. The Espada was suddenly in his human form once more, his single eye glaring coldly from the street.

"Do you see now," Tesla said venomously, "how your actions have come back to haunt you, even after all this time?"

"Tch," Ichigo hissed as he spit out a thin stream of blood. "Are you still upset over Nnoitra's death?"

The Espada's eye hardened as he pointed his zanpakuto at the Shinigami in front of him. "Nnoitra-sama was the closest thing to a father I'd ever had. And you took him away from me."

"That guy treated you like shit," Ichigo spat. "Anyone could see that he—"

The words stopped in Ichigo's mouth, the sound replaced with blood, as Tesla's sword thrust through his stomach.

"But _anything," _Tesla growled as he twisted the blade in Ichigo's gut,_"_is better than a life of emptiness."

With a revolting splatter, Tesla tore his zanpakuto out of the Shinigami's flesh, turning away and not sparing a single second to look back at his fallen opponent.

Ichigo was on his knees, his arms wrapped feebly around his midsection as his forehead rested pitifully on the ground. He couldn't believe he was going to die like this; bleeding to death in the streets of his hometown, a second-rate Espada walking away coldly as his life slowly ebbed away from him. He had conquered so much in his time as a Shinigami; he'd stormed the gates of Soul Society, killed Aizen Sousuke, and become a Captain of the Gotei Thirteen.

Now he was going to sit here and bleed to death on the sidewalk. Somewhere, he could hear his father laughing.

_Ichigo._

The voice was deep and calm and reserved.

_Get up, Ichigo._

Ichigo tilted his head up from the ball of pain that was tearing at his stomach, his eyes widening as he looked up into the face of _Zangetsu._

"O-old man," he stammered, blood spattering from his lips as they began to turn blue, "_Zangetsu."_

_Ichigo, _he said, a tint of anger staining his words. _Why are you lying there, crumpled in that pathetic heap?_

Ichigo's eyelids flickered as he struggled to keep his focus on the spirit in front of him. The rest of time had slowed down once more, Tesla's retreating form frozen off in the distance. Ichigo gritted his teeth as he looked up at the materialized form of his zanpakuto, the apparition glaring down at him with an unflinching gaze. Ichigo's head fell back down to the concrete, his face scratching upon the rough cement in defeat.

_I see, _the spirit spoke calmly, dropping to one knee and resting a hand upon Ichigo's shoulder. _You are truly in pain. You've always been able to save your friends when they were in danger. Now that she's already been killed, you feel lost._

His voice was filled with understanding.

"I promised…" Ichigo said through gritted teeth, once more turning his head back up to the being above him, "I promised that I would save her, that I would keep her alive."

_Yes, but now you must change your ways._

Ichigo's eyes widened suddenly as _Zangetsu's _words took on an uncharacteristic edge.

_Now you must no longer fight to protect. Now you must fight for vengeance._

_Zangetsu _dove forward, entering into Ichigo's body.

_And I will help you avenge._

Ichigo's strength suddenly skyrocketed as _Zangetsu's_ spirit merged with his soul, the zanpakuto lending him all of its strength. The Shinigami stood on shaky legs, the surge of power almost too much for him to handle; _Zangetsu _had never lent him this much energy at one time before. Ichigo grinned, feeling as though he could conquer the world.

Tesla stopped in his tracks, his face slowly appearing over his shoulder as he curiously regarded his once fallen opponent. A look of irritation crossed his single eye as it regarded the recovering Shinigami behind him.

"I see," he said, leaving his back turned as he pulled his zanpakuto back out from its scabbard. "So you still think that you can—"

Tesla's single eye went wide as his right arm was severed from his body, the limb now falling away from him in a flash. The gloved fingers were wriggling slightly as the nerve endings within them struggled to receive signal from his brain once more, dropping the sword that they once held as his hand groped on blindly. Tesla lunged forward, his left arm stretched out in an attempt to grab and wield the fallen blade.

Kurosaki Ichigo buzzed into view, his body blocking the Arrancar's weapon, his eyes glaring out coldly from behind the frightening grin of his Vizard mask. With a hiss, he swung his zanpakuto backwards, a black _Getsuga _rocketing out from the tip of his sword and incinerating both the Espada's arm and his sword within the dark energy.

His uniform in tatters, Ichigo marched forward at the frightened Arrancar. Tesla was retreating, his feet shuffling backwards as his eye trained on the Vizard in front of him. Tesla knew that he could resort to another form of attack and continue his fight, but his mind was inexplicably filled with fear as he looked into the hate-filled eyes of his opponent.

A bright ball of crimson light began to form in front of Ichigo's face, the sphere of deadly energy swirling powerfully in front of the ghastly grin of his mask. Tesla's eyes widened in surprise; he knew that the Vizards were part Hollow – in much the same way that an Arrancar was part Shinigami – but he hadn't known that they could use Hollow techniques.

His eye widened in shock as the Vizard's _cero _bellowed forward at him. It was too close to dodge and without his dominant hand, and he was too weak to reflect the attack. All he could do was stand in silent outrage as the wide beam of destructive energy roared towards him.

The attack never landed.

Ichigo gasped in shock as another Arrancar leapt in, batting the c_ero_ away as if it were nothing. The new fighter glanced down at his hand, now slightly charred from the attack, and scoffed before running it back through his wavy black hair.

"Cuuhlhourne," Tesla hissed in shock, "what are you doing here?"

"Saving your ass, Tesla," Charlotte said causally as he turned his attention back to Ichigo. "So, _this _is what a Vizard can do?"

"That's not all I can do, Arrancar," Ichigo hissed from behind his mask, bringing his zanpakuto up to point at the effeminate Espada that now stood in front of him.

"Tch," Charlotte ticked, flipping his hair back once more. "You might be strong, but you're not _that _strong. There's no way you can beat the both of us."

"There's only one way to find out," Ichigo said with a smirk, "right Arrancar?"

Charlotte sneered in distaste. "Oh, I don't think so," he said as he turned and touched a hand to the air next to him, a _garganta _roaring open at his side. "Our mission here is done. You should go and find that pissy little friend of yours; I think I might have killed him."

With that, the two Espada vanished into the black portal, its teeth clamping shut harshly as it melded back into a clear blue sky. Ichigo brushed a hand over his mask, his fingers whisking the ivory visage away. His brown eyes looked down at his stomach, the wound there beginning to bleed once more, ever so slightly, as his _reiatsu_began to dampen. He touched a tired finger to the fresh blood, holding his hand up and in front of his eyes.

_Gone already, _he asked to himself, _Old man?_

He sighed and flashed away, hoping to find his that his companions were still in one piece.

* * *

_**author's note:**_

_first thing's first: EVERYBODY JUST CHILL OUT I HAVE A PLAN._

_that said, i DO apologize for the slaughter. i know it was hard to see a bunch of people go, but you gotta realize that i've been foreshadowing it the whole time. seriously. since chapter 1. not to mention that during a war, sometimes the good guys suffer a defeat._

_however, i do have a plan for all this. the good guys will come out on top, i promise. they're just not gonna be skipping there upon a staircase of rainbows and candy and puppies._

_and both grimmjow and soi fon will be in the next chapter, i promise. in fact, they're pretty heavy in that one, so get ready [sorry to everyone that's been waiting (im)patiently for their return]._

_shout out to__**jazzpha**__for making sure i didn't repeat myself too much. he's good at catching that kind of stuff. also, read his ish._

_peece in greece,_

_jta!~_

_**gasoline dreams - outkast**_


	24. Hypostasis of the Archons

_**Hypostasis of the Archons**_

_Soi Fon stood outside of the building, her arms folded over her chest as the snow fell upon her naked shoulders. She ignored the goose bumps that exploded over her skin at the touch of the frozen precipitation. Her hand rose up to bring the thin white cigarette to her lips, the stick of tobacco shrinking as her mouth pulled on it._

_It was a habit she'd picked up from watching too many real world missions. Watching the hordes of humans crawling over each other – puffing away at their small columns of portable relief – Soi couldn't help but try one. Especially while she was in her modified _gigai; _Urahara had made them so that they were as close to human as possible. This meant a heightened sense of desire for both physical and psychological relief._

_The cigarettes provided both._

_Captain-commander Unohana had recently declared that a "Captain's experience" was invaluable during the training missions of newly initiated squad members. This, of course, meant that Soi Fon herself was forced to observe her new recruits on some of their first missions. Soul Society was still trying to rebuild itself after the War against Aizen Sousuke. Unohana, as the new head-in-chief, decided that building a squadron from the "ground up" would be the most efficient and effective way to keep _Shinigami _loyal to the cause._

Get 'em while they're young, _Soi Fon thought as she dropped the cigarette butt into the snow with an audible hiss. _It may be indoctrination, but as long as they don't question you, who's gonna complain?

_She turned around and faltered as she almost bumped into Grimmjow's chest._

"_I thought you were gonna quit smoking those things?" he asked wryly as she stepped back and looked up at him._

"_You know how it is in these stupid _gigai," _she said. "Besides, they're only harming the artificial lungs. Once I go back to Soul Society, it's as if I never even touched one."_

"_Yeah, yeah," Grimmjow said as he lifted up her _haori _and extended it out towards her. She grabbed it and slipped it over her shoulders, her body reacting to the small amount of warmth the cloth provided on her bare skin._

"_You have an extra one I can borrow?" Grimmjow asked, stopping her from leaving the rooftop they were on. The moonlight reflected brilliantly off of her white robe as she turned to him, her arm reaching out, the lid of the cigarette pack flipped open. Her thumb quickly slid one of the smokes out from the pack and he pulled it out and brought it to his lips. She turned away to leave again._

"_Got a light?" he asked, stopping her in her tracks._

"_Yeah."_

_She flicked out her arm and lit the cigarette that was hanging from Grimmjow's lips. She turned away, heading for the stairwell that led back into the building that her division was renting out for the mission._

"_So what happened out there tonight?" Grimmjow asked, his voice slightly muted by a gust of winter wind. Soi Fon stopped and turned her neck so she could see him over her shoulder._

"_You were there," she said with the smallest touch of venom. "You know damn well what happened."_

"_Alright. I know what happened. I want to know _why."

_Soi stopped as her fingertips touched the doorknob. She debated simply turning the brass ball and pulling the door open. Instead, she turned around to face him._

_"What's it to you?"_

_"As your third-seat and acting lieutenant, I think I should know why the mission failed so horribly. And why the two of us had to step in to save lives tonight."_

_"Nobody was expecting a swarm of giant Hollow to appear."_

_"So you're telling me that we hand-picked a group of soldiers that were unable to defend themselves against a few _Gillian_?"_

_"Don't start with me, Grimmjow."_

_"I'm not starting anything, Soi," he said, defensively. "But if I'm going to help you build a new army, I need to know how to make them self-sufficient."_

_Soi Fon gritted her teeth. The mission had been an absolute disaster. The team she'd picked to take had performed miraculously through the training drills until the _Menos _had appeared. Then the entire platoon had fallen apart in a frenzy of panic and confusion._

_To the novice Shinigami on the mission,_Gillian _were the things of nightmares; from their first days in the academy, students were taught about the sentient mass of Hollows that towered above buildings and possessed a near unfathomable power. She could understand the fear that passed through her squad at the sudden appearance of a dozen of the monsters._

_"They panicked, Grimmjow," Soi said, trying her best to not sound like she was making excuses. "That's all."_

_But it was worse than a simple "panicking". Her entire unit had fallen apart, disintegrating into chaos as twelve black towers attacked with a red rain of destruction. She had lost five students before she and Grimmjow had been able to step in and assist them._

_Even then, they lost another ten Shinigami to the horde of_Menos Grande. _Good Shinigami, too. Shinigami that knew the names of their zanpakuto; Shinigami that would easily have had seated positions in their futures. Soi Fon bit down once more, her molars grinding against each other in anger._

"_I understand that, Soi," Grimmjow said, stepping closer to her. "But what happened to us?"_

_She sighed and pulled out another smoke. "We were confused. We had too many people to look after and too many _Gillian _to kill."_

_Grimmjow sighed, a spear of white smoke shooting through his lips. "As long as you see it that way."_

"_And what's _that _supposed to mean?"_

"_That I can see you kicking yourself over what happened tonight," Grimmjow said as he took a drag of his cigarette, ignoring Soi's indignation._

"_So it's _my _fault that the squad fell apart?"_

"_No," Grimmjow said swiftly, recovering. "But I know that you are going to see it that way no matter what. So I want to convince you otherwise."_

"_Then why," she hissed, looking away, "did I almost get killed?"_

_She had leapt into the path of a _cero _to shove a student out of the way, taking the blast head on. Due to the distance between her body and the _Gillian, _the attack wasn't fatal, but it had been enough to stun her. She had laid helplessly paralyzed as the towering Hollow had dragged itself towards her. The student, a young girl that reminded Soi Fon of Hinamori Momo, had sat frozen in terror as the two gigantic feet crashed forward._

_That's when Grimmjow had leapt in, curling his fingers and blasting this final _Menos _away with a _cero _of his own. He'd scooped Soi Fon up into his arms for only a second before letting her down, safely away from harm. She hated him for it._

_And he knew it._

"_Soi."_

"_What, Grimmjow?" She was annoyed. She turned away again._

"_It was never my intention to embarrass you."_

_She sighed. "I know, Grimmjow. It's just…" She trailed off as she took a drag from her tobacco._

"_It's just what?"_

"_I don't—" She cut herself off and walked out towards the edge of the rooftop. She took another pull and dropped her cigarette, crushing more than half of it beneath the toe of her shoe. Grimmjow walked up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. He brought her close to him, her back pressing up against his chest as he leaned down and began to kiss her neck._

_**I don't want to fail in front of you.**_

Soi Fon leapt backwards, narrowly avoiding the gargantuan fist that slammed into the sand beneath her feet.

Yammy Rialgo, despite his massive size, reacted quickly and threw a second punch towards Soi Fon. She narrowly dodged the attack, her lithe figure spinning away from the enormous knuckles that plowed towards her. She leapt back, her feet landing nimbly upon one of the numerous crimson pillars that bespeckled the barren landscape of _Las Noches' _central arena.

Soi Fon vanished in a flash of _shunpo_, appearing suddenly on the back of Yammy's hand. Compared to the massive beast that the _Cero _Espada had become, her small form looked like a fly upon his brown skin. She quickly sprinted up his forearm, her feet carrying her across his hide as though it were a flat stretch of land.

Yammy brushed the back of his left hand down his arm. Soi leapt over the offending gesture as though it was a simple hurdle; her goal was the small black crest up in the crook of the Arrancar's elbow. She had been able to place almost three dozen _homonka _upon Yammy's body within the course of their fight. Unfortunately his monstrous size, coupled with his unnatural speed, made it practically impossible for her to stab her _Suzumebachi _into the same place twice.

As she approached her target, Yammy swung his arm out and flung her backwards across the desert. Soi flew freely for a few moments before regaining control of herself and landing softly upon another of the red pillars. She shook her head in self-disgust; she found it almost impossible to believe that his arm alone possessed enough strength to throw her so forcibly. A Shinigami of lieutenant-level would have found it practically impossible to right themselves.

Yammy was suddenly in front of her, his enormous fist plowing through the ruby column, smashing the tower to bits, its debris falling to the desert floor below.

Soi Fon reappeared almost immediately, her golden gauntlet already plunging into the skin of Yammy's cheek. He quickly swatted her away as the black hornet's crest blossomed upon his cheek. She hovered in front of him.

"You're going to need to be faster than that," Soi said confidently, despite her breaths labored. "I almost got your eye, big boy."

"Heh," Yammy replied. "You still think that I can't catch you, bitch? I'm only missing because I'm still trying to hold back!"

The massive Arrancar was suddenly in front of her, engulfing her entire field of vision as his caterpillar-like body eclipsed the artificial sunlight above them. His mouth ripped open, exposing a massive cavern of teeth and tongue and wet flesh. With as much of a smirk as his gaping maw would allow, a ball of crimson began to form, taking aim at the small female Shinigami below him. Soi Fon's eyes widened as she attempted to escape, propelling her body up and backwards through the air.

The _cero _was too fast.

The wave of red energy slammed into her body, tearing away at her petite flesh, her white _haori _burning away as she fell to the sand below. She hit the ground with a painful _thud_ and lay motionless.

"_Tch_," Yammy said as he reached down, his huge hand grasping Soi Fon. "Another captive for the boss-man. Way too easy."

He scooped her limp body up in his hand and glanced over it for a moment, admiring how such a small Shinigami could give him so much trouble. While it felt good to get his revenge on the woman who had almost killed him, he was pissed that it she had caused him to—

She vanished, leaving only her white _haori _in his sandy palm. His eyes widened as the charred cloth disintegrated in his hand.

"What the _fuck_?"

"_Utsusemi,"_Soi Fon called out from behind his head. "Molting Cicada."

He turned around and saw that she was without her captain's robe, her shoulders now bare as a white aura surrounded her body. She lifted her arm up, pointing her golden-clad middle finger at him. A smirk crossed over her face.

"_Bankai," _she said calmly as her zanpakuto began to glow. "_Jakuhou Raikouben_."

Yammy quickly spun his massive torso around, slamming his fist at her body, but she was already gone. His eyes shifted over to the left as he saw her reappear, her right arm completely enveloped within a large golden cylinder. The white aura of her _shunkou _began to inch its way across the missile that was her _bankai, _the energy reinforcing and strengthening the torpedo.

"What the fuck is this shit?" Yammy hollered, too amused at the small Shinigami's massive weapon to do anything but laugh. "You think your little pea-shooter is enough to take me down?"

Soi Fon remained silent as she forcibly hoisted the cannon up, the shoulder plate rising up so that a crease within it formed an impromptu scope. She sighted down the long weapon, aiming directly at the large Espada's mouth.

"Go on, you little cunt," Yammy said, his words full of venom as he stretched his arms wide. "Give me your best shot! Piss me right the fuck off and see what happens! I'll just get stronger and stronger!"

Soi Fon leveled her _bankai_ and smirked.

The massive torpedo roared forward. Behind the trail of smoke, Soi could see Yammy's face drop as the missile approached him. His mouth twisted down in fear and anguish as he realized that he had gravely underestimated the power that her attack contained.

And then everything was white.

Soi Fon flew backwards, tumbling, flipping head over heels as her _bankai _vanished, the shoulder-cannon shrinking as it turned back into a normal zanpakuto. She gripped onto the handle as the wind from the explosion propelled her ever backwards. She was finally able to right herself in time to avoid slamming head-first into the sand below – instead, her heels dug into the desert floor and she was forced down onto her back. She slid backwards, her body carving a trench into the desert as Yammy Rialgo crumpled to his knees. The winds from the blast still ripped through the dunes, but Soi Fon could force herself to her feet. The massive Arrancar was slowly disintegrating, his body falling apart from a massive hole in his chest. The wind began to die as his dematerialization reached his legs.

Soi gasped roughly, her body doubling over as she gripped her knees. Her lungs were on fire. She was having trouble holding her balance. She struggled to stand up straight, to watch as the last remnants of the _Cero_ Espada vanished from her sight.

As Yammy Rialgo crumbled into nothingness, Soi Fon fell backwards into the sand dunes. Her chest heaved violently as she struggled to catch her breath. She had never infused her _Jakuhou Raikouben_ with energy from _shunkou _before; had she held on to the missile for another two seconds, the buildup of energy would have easily ripped her own body in two. Her shoulder already felt as though it had been shattered; she was almost certain that it had become dislocated.

She stared up at the sky, her steel-colored irises gazing at the blue and white ceiling above her as she tried to calm herself down. She rolled her shoulder in its socket, gritting her teeth as it popped back into place. Her chest gradually began to slow its heaving, her heart no longer threatening to burst from her torso. A small smile spread across her face as she reveled in her small victory.

A thick mantle of _reiatsu _suddenly blanketed her. It felt heavy and angry and painful. She could immediately recognize who it belonged to.

Grimmjow.

* * *

_"Captain Hirako. Please remain in your bed."_

_Unohana Retsu slipped into the room, her voice pleasant but stern. Shinji immediately stopped from rising, and the panicked look left the faces of the two nurses that had been struggling to keep him from leaving. The blonde captain remained seated with his legs over the edge of the bed, but he did not lay back down._

_"You two may leave us," Unohana said._

_"Yes, Captain Unohana."_

_Unohana slid the door closed as the girls left. She turned to Shinji and sighed. He was not grinning._

_"Ya know I can't stay, Retsu," he said. "I still have men out on the field."_

_"Are you saying that Lieutenant Aizen is incapable of handling the squadron in your absence?"_

_Shinji chuckled. "Who knows what Sousuke is capable of?"_

_Unohana stepped closer to Shinji, placing her hands over his wounded ribs. Reluctantly, he slipped backwards onto the bed. He hissed slightly at the movement._

"_You speak as though you don't like your lieutenant, Hirako-san."_

"_It ain't like that," Shinji said as she began healing him. "I like the kid fine. I just don't trust him."_

"_Then why did you promote him?"_

"_So I can keep an eye on him."_

_Unohana looked up at Shinji, her eyes revealing a touch of surprise. It was not like Shinji to speak about his own lieutenant this way. While Shinji was extremely intelligent, it was almost out of character to hear him be so serious._

"_It probably wouldn't hurt for you to remember that, Retsu. Aizen Sousuke is not to be trusted."_

_She continued healing him in silence as he stared out the window. He was antsy; his squad was still out in the fields west of Rukongai. They had been investigating another case of disappearing souls when a horde of Hollow tore itself into the clearing. Retsu had a feeling that the monsters' appearances were caused by their almost mindless attraction to highly concentrated _reiatsu. _And the presence of so many Shinigami surely would be like a magnet._

_Unfortunately for Shinji, certain members of the twelfth division were also present for research purposes. Some of their gear had been struck by a _cero _and had exploded violently. The blonde-haired captain hadn't been expecting a table-sized sheet of metal to come flying from behind him. With his full attention on the Menos before him, he'd barely had time to leap out of the way of the shrapnel; the piece of steel would have torn him in half if he hadn't jumped aside at the last second. Instead, he'd managed to only get a rather deep gash along his ribs._

_He wouldn't have even come to the fourth if it weren't for the fact that he needed to bring some of his own squad members in for treatment. Leaving his lieutenant in charge, he'd raced to the medical barracks and was promptly told to receive treatment. And now that Unohana was here, he could no longer refuse._

"_You know," he said, his eyes still out on the window, "I bet it's all that Mayuri's fault. I wouldn't put it past him to have rigged that thing to blow before he sent it with us."_

"_My, my," Unohana answered with a small chuckle. "You just don't trust anyone today, do you Shinji?"_

_Shinji turned and smiled at the sound of his first name. Unohana's hands slipped away from his wound as she struggled to break eye-contact with him. She could feel her cheeks heat up under his stare, his hazel eyes piercing into hers. He snickered and looked away again; she resumed healing._

"_Whatever do you mean, Retsu?"_

"_First it's Lieutenant Aizen you don't trust," she said, standing. "And now it's Third-seat Kurotsuchi. Will you cease to trust me next?"_

_"Oh, I've never trusted you, Retsu. You're far too powerful for me to have ever trusted completely."_

_Unohana blushed again. "Shinji…"_

_The door opened, cutting her off as Aizen Sousuke walked in. He looked at Unohana and bowed pleasantly._

_"Captain Unohana," he said as he returned from his stoop. "I need to speak with my captain. I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"_

_"Of course you ain't, Sousuke," Shinji said, his smile falling slightly. "What's the scoop?"_

_"No casualties, but nothing that could count as information either. The only remains we could find of these 'missing souls' were their clothes."_

_"Fabulous," Shinji said. "So I almost got skewered for nothin'?"_

_"You shouldn't be so negative, Captain." Aizen said, his face lifting into an agreeable smile. "I've already spoken with Captain Muguruma. I told him that the field we were searching in today should be investigated again. I convinced him to send a small vanguard out to investigate further."_

_"That's Sousuke for you," Shinji said to Unohana as he forced his smile to return. "Always makin' sure he gets his way."_

_Aizen looked slightly taken aback. "Captain, if you think that I shouldn't have—"_

_"Nah," Shinji replied. "I'm sure you have a very good reason for wanting to send more troops out to the scene. Ya did good."_

_"Thank you, Captain."_

_"Wait for me outside. We need to talk to Kisuke."_

_Aizen left with a bow. Shinji stood and stretched. Unohana sensed at him; his wound was completely healed. He turned and faced her, his body slowly closing the gap between the two of them._

_"Now, where were we before Ol' Sousuke came and interrupted us?"_

_"Shinji," Unohana said as he leaned in closer to her. "Shinji we can't, I—"_

_There was a quick knock on the door before it was roughly tossed open. Lieutenant Yamada rushed in, his face flush._

_"Captain Unohana! Captain Ukitake is having another episode! It's a bad one."_

_The lieutenant fled and Unohana was quickly following him. Shinji placed a hand on her shoulder that stopped her in her tracks. She turned and looked at him, a touch of panic in her eyes. Shinji sighed._

_"So," he said, "you've replaced me with him completely, haven't you Retsu?"_

_"Shinji, I…" she said before she turned away and left the room. "I have to go."_

_Hirako Shinji stood alone in his hospital room._

_**Shinji, I'm sorry.**_

"Isn't it fun, Retsu?" Shinji called out from the other side of the courtyard. "It's just like old times! You and me and a pair of swords!"

Unohana Retsu took a deep breath and stood up from kneeling. He had gotten much faster over the past century; back when the two of them had sparred for practice, she was always quicker than him. Her surprise at his newfound speed had almost cost her an arm.

She took a step forward and let her _haori _slip from her shoulders and fall to the ground. Her left sleeve was almost severed at the shoulder; a large gash was there on her arm, crimson blood leaking down onto the cloth. She tore the entire sleeve off and touched the fingertips of her right hand to the wound. It immediately stopped bleeding and began to close.

"Except," he said wryly, "I never made you bleed back then."

Shinji flashed forward and swung his zanpakuto down, the _katana _slamming into the ground where Unohana was just standing. With a soft whisper, she appeared behind him and slashed out with her own sword. He spun away from her, his loafers skidding along the tiles below as he retreated. A sudden torrent of blood began to pour out of his arm, staining his entire right sleeve red from the shoulder down.

"Now we're even," Unohana said, her voice devoid of humor. Her face was frighteningly calm; Shinji grimaced slightly as he shifted his weight, his mind trying to figure out where she would be going next. He could never read her face, especially when she got serious like this.

"You said," she began, her _nodachi _pointing directly at him, "that this was just like 'old times'? I don't see it at all. Let me remind you how our old training matches _really _went."

Shinji didn't even have time to bring his zanpakuto up to block. Unohana had been in front of him and then she was gone, her body vanishing in a flash. He knew that she would be appearing behind him, so he'd immediately turned around, just in time to receive a strike to the chest. The cut, a shallow slice reaching from his right clavicle to his left hip, forced him backwards almost to the edge of the courtyard. He doubled over as soon as he was away from her, his free hand coming up to his wound, his fingers pushing the cloth aside so he could put some pressure on the wound.

Unohana was on top of him again, her blade slashing sideways at his face. He swiftly leapt back and into the air, his tie losing half its length as her sword passed through it. He flew up and backwards in retreat when she was suddenly in front of him again, her zanpakuto rocketing downwards with tremendous speed, both of her fists gripped around the handle. Shinji reached up and blocked the strike at the last minute, his sword clashing against hers in defense. The strength of her attack forced him downwards, his body spiraling head over feet as he plummeted towards the ground.

He stood up on shaking legs as he looked up at Unohana, his former _sempai_ still hovering above him in the air. He could already tell that his right wrist was fractured from the impact of the strike; he'd almost forgotten how incredibly powerful Unohana Retsu could be with a sword.

"Oh yeah," he said sarcastically, "now I remember what the good 'ol days were like."

She stared at him for a moment before flashing down to the ground a few yards in front of him. His smile grew slightly. She remained expressionless.

"So, does it hurt?" he asked. "Having to fight me like this, Retsu? Does it hurt that Soul Society is fallin' under your watch?"

She didn't respond. Not even a tremble ran from her fists to the tip of her sword. Shinji's grin grew wider.

"No wonder they made you Captain-commander. You're as immobile as a mountain, Retsu."

He quickly reached his left hand up to his forehead, small strips of ivory manifesting themselves upon his fingertips. His twisted wrist snapped back into place as the rest of his pharaoh's mask finished molding itself within his grip. He smirked one last time before yanking it down over his face and charging forward.

Unohana was suddenly forced back, but her face never expressed any sort of shock at Shinji's sudden increase in speed or power. She simply blocked the strike, his feet coming up behind him as he pressed forward into her blade. He finally flipped over her, sparks spitting off their clashing swords as he flew behind her. He bolted forward again, his sword swinging rapidly at her. She blocked each strike with controlled movements, her calm demeanor never wavering as his onslaught continued.

Unohana Retsu flew back calmly as Shinji attacked her. She parried each strike with a trained precision, each blow that was meant to strike her was deflected as though she was an instructor. While the Vizard's speed and strength had multiplied with the donning of his mask, he still fought like her old classmate from centuries ago. His style and attack patterns were the exact same.

And then there it was. The opening that he always left her: _left-right-left-right-downward stroke to the upper left._ Unohana easily dodged the strike, the slashing of the sword moving in slow motion to her well-trained eyes. She leaned back ever so slightly, the tip of his zanpakuto barely missing the tip of her nose by a few inches. She immediately parried, her _nodachi _swinging upwards to strike his newly exposed belly.

The attack never landed. Her sword slashed trough the empty air as Hirako Shinji buzzed into sight behind her.

_Sonído! _She thought as she spun around, her right arm gaining a wound that mirrored the one on her left. She slid backwards as blood spilled from her shoulder. Her black sleeve fell from the rest of her uniform, the dark cloth fluttering to the ground and leaving both of her arms bare. She didn't risk healing her wound; she would have to take her eyes off of him to start the healing process, and she knew that Shinji was now fast enough to turn any opening she left him into an advantage.

"Come on, Retsu," Shinji said, mockingly. "Ya insult me when ya think I haven't fixed my mistakes."

"Well," she said, "would it soothe your temper if I said that I was almost impressed?"

"Tch," he snickered, his voice filtering out through the teeth of his mask, "ya know what? It almost does."

A moment of silence passed as a gust of wind swept through the piazza. Unohana could already feel the losses of her troops as she subconsciously reached out with her mind and felt the condition of Soul Society. She knew that Captain Komamura was dead and that Captains Madarame and Kotetsu weren't far behind. Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Hinamori were also deceased. She could feel the _reiatsu _of the three espada that had arrived with Hirako Shinji were still radiating across the _Seireitei,_stronger than any Shinigami's. She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment.

_So all is truly lost, _she thought as Shinji charged her. He flashed forward with terrifying speed, his attack showing that he sensed her hesitation. _Then as the Captain-commander of Soul Society it is my duty… _Hirako Shinji slashed forward at her, his zanpakuto arcing viciously at her neck.

…_To protect it until the very end._

Unohana Retsu slid to the right just as the Vizard's _katana_ would have decapitated her. She countered with her _nodachi, _the long blade shooting forward as she jabbed at her attacker. Shinji slid backwards and suddenly found himself on the defensive. He was swinging his sword left and right, blocking with both hands on the blade as Unohana lunged forward aggressively. He was soon forced up against the wall of the courtyard, his eyes widening in surprise as she reached up high with both arms and brought _Minazuki _swinging down against his pinned body.

The attack was not fatal. He had been able to force himself backwards hard enough to create an indent in the stone of the wall behind him, causing the slash to simply cut his flesh instead of cleave him in half. His mask split diagonally across his face and the left half slid off, the tip of her sword having cut his nose and cheek trough the bone of his hollow visor.

He leapt upwards with a buzz, narrowly avoiding what would have been Unohana's finishing blow. He struggled to catch his breath, to remain calm. His chest heaved as he watched her rise slowly and confidently into the air. He drew breath into his lungs and straightened his back as much as he could. His smiled wavered for a moment before returning, his teeth flashing brilliantly before he wiped his hand over his broken mask and repaired it.

"Oh Retsu," he said slyly. "You reallyhave become powerful. It's a shame I couldn't handle this situation differently – you would have made a truly invaluable ally."

He held out his hand, his blade aimed at her face.

"Collapse, _Sakanade."_

Hirako Shinji was suddenly upside-down, his oddly shaped zanpakuto levitating over his closed fist. Unohana braced herself. She had seen Shinji's _shikai _many times, but only ever in a friendly setting. She had helped him grow accustomed to his sword's unique abilities, but she only knew enough about it to assist him in training. To actually combat _Sakanade _was a whole different story.

In fact, she'd always dreaded the day she would have to face it once he'd figured out how to master it.

"So," she said, "it's finally come to this?"

"When you convinced the Central 46 to permanently banish us after our escape, you must have known that you would have to fight me, Retsu."

She sighed. "It is true. Although I am disappointed to say that I never truly prepared myself."

"Well," he said, grinning. "Ain't that a shame?"

He charged at her then, his upside-down body flinging itself at her. She tried to concentrate, knowing that he would be coming at her from the front but that the attack would look as though it was coming from behind her. She turned her head and saw the direction he was coming at her. She took note and turned back around and blocked in the empty air, her zanpakuto guarding her from an invisible strike.

The attack came from behind.

Her hip exploded with blood as Shinji's sword sliced through her back. Unohana gasped and stumbled forward, her eyes looking forward in disbelief as she struggled to keep herself upright. Shinji chuckled as he placed his fingers against his mask, wiping it away.

"If you haven't spent the last century with _Sakanade," _he said, "then there's no way you'll be able to keep up with her. Ya know that I've won, Retsu; even your _bankai _can't keep up with me now."

Unohana Retsu grimaced as Shinji raised his sword against her once more. His smile fell, leaving his protruding teeth as a straight-lined sneer as he rushed at her.

Shinji's left shoulder exploded with blood, stopping him in mid stride. He leapt backwards as his arm became coated with a fresh coat of gore. From his shadow emerged Kyoraku Shunsui, the disheveled looking captain rising from the floor with his two enormous scimitars at the ready. A smile stretched across his face, one that Shinji could see through and tell was malicious.

"Hirako-kun," Shunsui said as he calmly placed himself between his two old friends. "Surely you'll agree that this fight should be between Soul Society's two most talented tricksters?"

Shinji's eyes narrowed as he glared at this new attacker. "Shunsui. What an unpleasant surprise."

"Likewise," Shunsui responded, "I can assure you."

Shunsui stabbed his sword into the ground, the tip of it erupting from the shadow beneath Shinji's feet. The Vizard leapt backwards, barely escaping the would-be debilitating attack. Shunsui immediately leapt forward, swinging both of the massive blades in an attempt to drop the former captain in front of him.

Both of his swords stopped as Coyote Stark appeared before him, each of the weapons gripped in the Arrancar's hands. In a matter of moments, the other two Espada appeared in the courtyard. Halibel was pointing her massive blade at Unohana and Barragan was placing himself between Shinji and everyone else. All three of the Arrancar leapt forward to attack.

"Wait!" Shinji yelled, causing the Espada to stop immediately. He straightened up from his defensive posture and smirked. "We got 'em beat. There's no need to rub their faces in it."

"Vizard," Barragan hissed. "Are you suggesting that we shouldn't kill them?"

"That's exactly what I am suggesting, Arrancar."

"Then you are insane," the _Segunda _said with a snarl, his large axe falling from striking position. "I don't know why the boss-man left you in charge of this mission."

Shinji ignored him as he turned towards the two shinigami. "I suppose the two of you are free to go."

"'_Free to go_', Hirako?" Unohana said, her voice uncharacteristically venomous. "You assume that we'll retreat from here? You certainly have grown arrogant."

"Retsu," he said with a smile, "if you don't want to live anymore, then that's your call. But it would truly break my heart to see you die. Halibel."

Tia Halibel removed the tip of her blade from Unohana's throat and split open a _garganta, _the portal tearing the sky with a deep growl. Retsu shivered as cold air blew out from within it.

"You can refuse my offer, of course," Shinji continued, "but I think you both know that you cannot win against all four of us."

Unohana clenched her jaw tightly, her eyebrows knotting over her deep blue irises. Shunsui relaxed, both of his swords returning to their normal state. She looked over at her old friend, her confusion met with a look of reluctant submission. Her spirits dropped as she realized that he was giving up. His brown eyes met hers and he frowned.

"Well," he said with a well-practiced faked friendliness, "I guess it's time we depart, eh Retsu?"

She sighed and looked down at her feet, her hand slowly returning her zanpakuto to its scabbard. She looked up at Hirako Shinji as she tried her best to keep her eyes from pleading. She turned and stepped towards the _garganta._

"Yes. I suppose it is."

* * *

**_author's note:_**

_I AM SORRY._

_i know it's been a while since the last update, but sometimes life gets in the way. my baddddd._

_this chapter was supposed to have the grimmjow/ulquiorra confrontation in it, but the it would have ended up being wayyyyyyyyy too long, so i cut it into two parts. this meaning, of course, that you guys won't have to wat too long for the next update; i already have some of it written, so expect it sooner than later._

_thanks as always go out to__**jazzpha**__and__**matsumama**__for taking a look at this while i was stuck in writer's block. also, big thanks go out to__**silent echoes**__for the wonderful reviews i'v erecieved over the past few days. they really spurred me on._

_as always,__**reviews**__are greatly appreciated. i'll hopefully get this next chapter out ASAP._

_boom-de-yada,_

_jta~!_

_**hypostasis of the archons - holy vehm**_


	25. Low III: Subterraneans

_**Low III: Subterraneans**_

_**Like a sapling…**_

_"Well, well," Grimmjow said with a smirk, "look who decided to actually show up."_

_Ulquiorra Schiffer walked calmly up to the table near the back of the bar, every patron in the building giving the Arrancar a wide berth as he moved. The Captain-commander's newly-appointed lieutenant sat in a vacant chair and looked around the round table at the small gathering of Shinigami present. Captains Hisagi and Madarame were at the other end of the table, pointing at each other and yelling over their drinks as Lieutenant Ayasegawa looked on with a smile. Captain Kira and the twelfth squad's Lieutenant Kurotsuchi were sitting to his left, absorbed in their own conversation._

_Grimmjow and Captain Soi Fon were at his right._

_"I never thought you'd actually show," Grimmjow continued, "Ulquiorra."_

_Grimmjow knew that Ulquiorra had been having a rough year. The massive loads of paperwork that belabored the first division were starting to put a damper on his already depressing comrade. The vacant look on his face was beginning to turn into something more forlorn and it was almost enough to make Grimmjow want to spit._

_Not to mention the fact that Ulquiorra hardly had any time to visit the real world anymore._

_"Captain Unohana insisted that I take you up on your offer," Ulquiorra said calmly, "and despite my insistence on finishing up my reports, she gave me the evening off."_

_"Well it's about goddamned time you got out of the house," Grimmjow said, sliding his arm from around Soi Fon's shoulders as he leaned forward. "I swear this place'll be the fuckin' death of you. Imagine: Ulquiorra Schiffer, Aizen Sousuke's golden boy, brought to his knees by too much paperwork."_

_"You're only protecting your own pride, Grimmjow," Ulquiorra responded. "You would hate to see my demise at the hands of an inanimate object; it would surely make you furious that a stack of papers could kill me whereas you never could."_

_"See?" Grimmjow said, turning towards Soi Fon, "there's that sense of humor he likes to hide."_

_"Yes," Soi said with a roll of her eyes as she stood. "He's quite amusing. What can I get you from the bar, Lieutenant Schiffer?"_

_"Nothing, Captain Soi Fon. I am quite—"_

_"The hell he is," Grimmjow interrupted loudly. "Get him something. _Anything. _I'll force him to drink it."_

_Soi Fon chuckled and walked away. Ulquiorra turned towards Grimmjow, his emerald eyes narrowing slightly._

_"You're drunk already."_

_"Well if you'd shown up when I'd told you to," Grimmjow countered as he finished the rest of the beer in his glass, "you'd be drunk, too."_

_"Ulquiorra!" Hisagi called out as he stood from the other end of the table. "I thought that Ol' Unohana was gonna have you working until you died of exhaustion! Let me get you something to drink."_

_"No thank you, Captain Hisagi. Captain Soi Fon is already at the bar on my behalf."_

_"Is she?" Hisagi slurred, sliding his eyes off towards the main hall. "Well how come nobody told me she was goin' up there?" He stumbled slightly as he got out from around his chair and left for the bar._

_"I can only assume," Ulquiorra said, turning his attention back to his fellow Arrancar, "that the rest of the group has been here longer than you?"_

_"What was your first clue?"_

_Ulquiorra didn't say anything, opting to turn his head to the side and watch the other customers mingle. Grimmjow's eyebrows tightened. He could tell that Ulquiorra was uncomfortable. Whereas Grimmjow's more outgoing nature had allowed him to attain some sort of companionship out of the Shinigami, Ulquiorra's preference for silence and solitude left him all but alienated from the majority of Soul Society._

_Which was the reason Grimmjow had asked Ulquiorra to come out that night._

"_Okay okay," Hisagi called out as he and Soi Fon came back to the table, each of them carrying drinks in their hands. "We come bearing gifts. Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, here you go…"_

_The captain of the ninth division placed two beers in front of the Arrancar and continued his way around the table. Soi Fon followed him, helping pass out drinks._

"_Alcohol," Ulquiorra said, looking at his beer. "Such a debilitating substance."_

"_Shut up and drink it," Grimmjow said, lifting his glass, his face a rare but genuine smile. "I wasn't kidding when I said I'd _make _you drink it."_

… _**that has just been born …**_

"Ulquiorra," Grimmjow said as he stepped into the room.

"Grimmjow."

Grimmjow's molars began to painfully grind against one another. The two of them stood apart from each other as sunlight poured in through the balcony of Aizen's former throne room, silhouetting Grimmjow in the doorway. Ulquiorra stood calmly at the other end of the hall, his hands in his pockets, his eyes closed.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing here?" Grimmjow hissed through his teeth.

"A foolish question," Ulquiorra responded. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"It _looks_ like you're fuckin' us all over."

"Is that so? Perhaps looks aren't what they seem."

"Don't play that bullshit on me," Grimmjow yelled, ripping his zanpakuto out of its scabbard, "Ulquiorra!"

The two of them stood their grounds, Ulquiorra calm and motionless, Grimmjow practically trembling in anger.

"Don't look so mad, Grimmjow," the other Arrancar said calmly, his emerald eyes opening. "I'm simply giving you what you've always wanted…"

Ulquiorra slid his own blade out and slowly pointed its tip across the room.

"…A chance to finally be defeated by my hand."

Grimmjow roared and rushed forward, his arm slashing outward as he approached Ulquiorra. The two blades crashed against each other, Ulquiorra sliding back on his heels slightly. His eyes showed no surprise at the strength of Grimmjow's strike. He had completely expected his fellow Arrancar to have improved his skills during their time in Soul Society.

Ulquiorra planted his feet and stopped Grimmjow from pushing him back any further. The green-eyed hollow shoved his _katana _forward, pushing Grimmjow back and up into the air. Ulquiorra darted forward to attack, his blade now slinging outwards against Grimmjow's. The taller Arrancar slapped the blade aside with his bare hand, his palm striking flat against the side of Ulquiorra's zanpakuto.

Grimmjow immediately began to force Ulquiorra back, his blade lashing out, strike after strike. Ulquiorra was forced to dodge the slashes until he regained control of his right arm once more. He was quickly blocking each attack easily, his body retreating so that he could place some distance between the two of them and prepare for a counter-attack.

Grimmjow quickly threw his hand forward, a gigantic _cero _blasting at Ulquiorra. The smaller Arrancar flipped his body backwards, his coattails flying upwards as the horn on his mask barely rose above the beam of crimson energy. Grimmjow's attack blasted through the far wall, and Ulquiorra retaliated with his own _cero, _the green wave roaring downwards from his fingertip. Grimmjow brought his arm up, his zanpakuto catching onto the blast before he tossed it aside with a flick of his arm. He rushed forward again, once more slashing wildly at Ulquiorra.

While Grimmjow's strength had only marginally increased, his speed had practically doubled since his tenure in Aizen's army. It was no surprise – after all, he was affiliated with a squadron that prided itself on agility and stealth. Under Soi Fon's tutelage, anyone could learn to move as fast as lightning. And Grimmjow Jaggerjaques was already that fast before he even came to Soul Society; he was now a deadly blur of white and blue.

Unfortunately for him, Ulquiorra was still faster.

The green-eyed Espada suddenly dropped down towards the floor, Grimmjow's blade zipping over the tip of his mask as he fell. He slammed into the ground and snatched up his discarded scabbard. Grimmjow plummeted head-first towards him, the tip of his blade pointing directly at his opponent's forehead. Ulquiorra threw his left hand upwards, the length of Grimmjow's zanpakuto sliding into the sheath that he held.

Grimmjow's eyes widened as his sword locked into place within Ulquiorra's scabbard, the force of their collision creating a small crater beneath his opponent. The shorter Arrancar suddenly yanked him downwards, pulling their bodies closer together. With a flash of movement, Ulquiorra's blade was rammed through Grimmjow's stomach. The blue-eyed Hollow looked on in shock as blood trickled from his lips, his teeth grinding against each other. Ulquiorra twisted the blade inside of his body.

And then Grimmjow was gone, leaving only his vest impaled upon Ulquiorra's blade as his opponent's zanpakuto was torn from the smaller Arrancar's grip. His eyes widened in surprise.

_Damn._

Ulquiorra didn't have time to block the strike as Grimmjow suddenly reappeared in front of him, his _Pantera _screaming downwards against Ulquiorra's chest. Ulquiorra flew backwards as blood spilled from his fresh wound, the crimson liquid falling thickly upon the floor in front of him. He slid to a stop and struggled for breath as he looked at Grimmjow. The former _Sexta _Espada stood defiantly, his bare chest heaving as he breathed. Ulquiorra snapped his arm downwards, Grimmjow's vest tearing into halves as it fell from the blade onto the ground.

"So," he said, straightening himself. "I see you've mastered the _Molting Cicada_ technique?"

"Tch," Grimmjow scoffed as he looked at Ulquiorra, "You know Soi Fon wouldn't let me live without knowing how to do it."

They stared at each other from across the room, Ulquiorra's calm eyes rivaling Grimmjow's enraged ones. A soft wind blew in from the hole that Grimmjow's _cero _had blown through the wall, sending his tattered vest tumbling across the white tiles of the floor. Their eyes met, clashing, causing an almost palpable tension to fill the room.

"I see," Ulquiorra said, bringing his blade up to his face. "It's finally come to this?"

"I guess so," Grimmjow responded as he leveled his own zanpakuto along his waist, his fingertips touching the steel.

"Bind."

"Grind."

Grimmjow growled as he waited for Ulquiorra to release.

"_Murciélago_."

"_Pantera!"_

… _**memories struggle from the underground…**_

_"Oi, Ulquiorra," Grimmjow called, his breath appearing in the winter night's air. "What hell're you doing out here?"_

_Ulquiorra turned his head slightly to look at Grimmjow as he slipped out from the door of the bar. He turned his face back up to the sky, his green eyes focusing on the waxing moon above him. He had been drinking all night with Grimmjow and felt as though he was no longer himself. He felt far too… talkative. He needed some air. He needed to be alone._

_Grimmjow wasn't gonna let that happen._

_"Come on inside," Grimmjow began again, "Ikkaku's about to pick a fight with some drunk bum."_

_"I'm sure Captain Madarame will come out victorious," Ulquiorra said. "There's no need for me to witness it first-hand."_

_"Jeez," Grimmjow said as he came to stand alongside Ulquiorra. "If I knew you were gonna be such a fuckin' downer tonight, I wouldn't have invited you out."_

_"Perhaps you shouldn't have."_

_Grimmjow's eyebrows tightened as he looked at Ulquiorra._

_"Well fuck you too, then. Fuck me for tryin' to make you feel better about whatever shit you're goin' through."_

_He turned and began to walk back into the bar. Ulquiorra almost let him go, but his voice betrayed him as his fellow Arrancar reached the doorway._

_"Grimmjow," he said softly, his companion stopping. "Wait."_

_Grimmjow turned his head, a sky-blue eye looking over his shoulder. Ulquiorra turned away from the moonlight. Soi Fon came outside then, her eyes squinted in confusion. She looked between the two of them for a moment before focusing on Grimmjow._

_"Is everything alright out here?"_

_"Yeah," Grimmjow replied shortly, looking from her to Ulquiorra. "I was just telling Ulquiorra that he needs to come back inside."_

_She shot them both a look. "Ok then. Lieutenant," she looked at Ulquiorra, a rare smile gracing her lips, "I believe that the next round is yours."_

_Ulquiorra said nothing as Soi Fon kissed Grimmjow and went back inside. Grimmjow watched her go before turning back to Ulquiorra. The other Arrancar said nothing for a few moments. A cold wind started blowing across the porch that the two of them were sharing. Ulquiorra's coattails fluttered noiselessly as he turned back to sky, his green eyes the color of fresh grass as they reflected the moon._

_"Ulquiorra," Grimmjow started as he walked forward, his legs wobbling drunkenly as he approached his cold comrade. He reached the edge of the patio, his arm resting against a fence post._

_"I…" Ulquiorra began, his speech slowing as he struggled for words. "How do you do it, Grimmjow?"_

_"Eh?"_

_"Fit in the way you do?"_

_"Pff," Grimmjow laughed. "Ulquiorra, you sound like a depressed teenager."_

_"Grimmjow."_

_Ulquiorra stood silently, only a slight wobble in his stance betraying his façade of sobriety. He looked at Grimmjow in silence for a moment longer before he turned away again, his eyes lifting up to the sky. Grimmjow sighed and looked upwards. He didn't feel like prying into Ulquiorra's business; it was extremely uncomfortable to even be talking to the stoic Arrancar about any sort of personal issue. Having a heart-to-heart with him was almost painful._

_"What are you really thinking?" Grimmjow asked finally, breaking through the taboo barrier. "I know you don't really give a fuck about making friends and 'fitting in'."_

_"Oh?" Ulquiorra said, turning his head slightly. "And how would you know this?"_

_"Because I fuckin' _know _you."_

_"I see."_

_More silence. Grimmjow growled and pushed forward. The pale bastard obviously wanted to talk about something, and the sooner Grimmjow got it out of him the sooner he could go back inside and grab another beer._

_"It's about _her, _isn't it?" Grimmjow said. "Orihime."_

_Ulquiorra's eyes quickly slid to Grimmjow, but he remained silent. It was not a reaction that went unnoticed. Grimmjow smirked._

_"You don't see her much, do ya?"_

_"Not at all."_

_"Well _shit_. If Unohana gave you the night off, you shouldn't have fuckin' come out with us."_

_"Orihime was busy this evening. She's just begun her studies at a University."_

_"You talked to her?"_

_Ulquiorra sighed. "Why do you think it took me so long to get here? I went to visit her first. She said that she was too busy to see me and…" he trailed off. "The only opportunity we've had to see one another in almost four months and she's… _too busy_."_

_Grimmjow said nothing. He couldn't find any words that would help his fellow Arrancar. With a sigh, he lifted his hand up and rubbed the back of his neck. It was a subconscious gesture, and he hoped that Ulquiorra wouldn't take it as him being uncomfortable. Because he most certainly was._

_"You and Captain Soi Fon," Ulquiorra began before Grimmjow barked out a laugh._

_"Don't even ask about _that_," he said. "That just sorta _happened. _We just work and I couldn't fuckin' tell you how or why."_

_"I see."_

_"Come back inside," Grimmjow said, slapping Ulquiorra on the back as he turned and left. "Buy your round of drinks and if you still wanna talk about it, I'll be here for ya. I'll always be here for ya. But _please_, inside. I'll be here for ya inside."_

_Ulquiorra stood still for a moment before the faintest of smiles played across his lips._

_"Yeah. Thanks."_

… _**and fight for the sunlight.**_

Grimmjow crashed through the wall of another pillar, sunlight pouring in from the fissure his body had created. He leapt to his feet, ignoring the blood that leaked from the large slash that tore its way across his chest. Ulquiorra buzzed into view, his black wingspan drenching the room in shadow.

Grimmjow wasted no time in attacking, snapping his elbow forward and firing out a quintet of small missiles. Ulquiorra twisted his body out of the way, but left himself open to a second attack. Grimmjow took this opportunity and flung himself forward, his claws raking four deep grooves into Ulquiorra's flesh.

The winged Arrancar darted backwards, allowing Grimmjow to rush out into the open and sling kick after kick after punch at his adversary. Ulquiorra easily blocked the strikes, his green eyes looking for any opening within the berserk tornado that was Grimmjow Jaggerjaques. He couldn't see anything beyond the white and black of his feet and fists. Ulquiorra had landed two strikes against his opponent, but they were lucky at best; Grimmjow not only seemed un-phased by the attacks, but he appeared to have learned how Ulquiorra could break through his protection. He was combining both a rapid-fire offense and an impenetrable defense into a flurry of movement and Ulquiorra was having trouble figuring out how to get inside again.

Grimmjow spun and kicked, hooking the clawed heel of his right leg up near Ulquiorra's head. The black-haired Arrancar dodged narrowly, his cheek gaining a thin cut from one of the four talons on his opponent's foot. Ulquiorra smirked inwardly; Grimmjow had clearly intended for that strike to connect and the missed kick left his back wide open. Wordlessly, Ulquiorra opened his left palm and summoned another lance of lightning. He swiftly gripped it and swung both towards his opponent's exposed body. Even if Grimmjow could regain his posture in time to evade the attack, Ulquiorra now held an extra blade. His opponent's defenses were as good as shattered.

Ulquiorra's breath caught in his throat as Grimmjow completed his revolution, a fully charged _cero _in his palm. Ulquiorra immediately moved to cross both of his blades of light over his face in an attempt to block the strike, but Grimmjow was too close. Ulquiorra could see nothing but red over his opponent's maniacal smirk.

The blast forced him backwards violently and he struggled to regain control of his body. Both of them knew that the attack was nowhere near fatal, but they also equally knew that Ulquiorra was going to be completely open to an attack from any angle. The red of the _cero_ cleared and Ulquiorra immediately blocked above his head, the spear in his right hand blindly protecting himself from an attack that hadn't come yet. The gambit paid off as Grimmjow's foot crashed into his weapon. Ulquiorra immediately slashed out with his left lance, aiming directly for Grimmjow's gut.

Grimmjow wasn't there.

_Shit, _Ulquiorra thought as he realized his target had vanished. _He's fast._

A foot slammed into his back, sending him plummeting towards the ground. He plowed into the sand below and immediately leapt up and away, narrowly avoiding another kick that would have crushed his skull. He flew upwards as Grimmjow looked at him from the crater in the dunes below him. Ulquiorra immediately hurled both of his lances downwards, each of them connecting into the ground with a massive explosion. Grimmjow appeared above the blasts almost immediately, his white body buzzing into existence a few inches in front of Ulquiorra's extended index finger. His blue eyes widened in surprise as a swirl of shadow sizzled at his chest.

"_Cero Oscuras."_

The black _cero _roared forward and tore against Grimmjow's body. The attack had been too close for him to block, much less avoid; he had no choice but to take the strike directly to his chest. He flew back in agony as the dark wave ripped at his face and chest, his _resurrección _burning away from his flesh. The blast seemed to last for aeons before blowing past him as gravity took over, his body spiraling towards the ground limply.

He hit the sand with a thud, his limbs trembling slightly as _Pantera _resealed itself within his hand. He immediately struggled to rise, jabbing the tip of his zanpakuto into the ground and forcing himself up from his back.

Ulquiorra appeared before him with a buzz, immediately slamming a fresh light spear through his left shoulder. Grimmjow growled in rage and pain and frustration as the lance pinned him back against the desert floor. Ulquiorra looked down at him with emotionless eyes, his green orbs completely calm in the face of Grimmjow's fury.

"You should never have raised your blade against me, Grimmjow."

"_Fuck off_," Grimmjow spat as blood bespeckled his lips and chin. "You think _this_ is enough to kill _me_?"

Grimmjow slashed upwards with his zanpakuto, causing Ulquiorra to leap back and tear the spear from his shoulder. Grimmjow gritted his teeth against the blazing explosion of pain as he forced himself to his feet.

"Kill you?" Ulquiorra inquired as Grimmjow wobbled in front of him. "If killing you was my goal, you'd already be dead Grimmjow."

"The fuck you talkin' about?" Grimmjow spat.

Ulquiorra suddenly lashed out at an invisible enemy to his left, his movements cutting off their conversation. He quickly spun around and slashed again behind him, but he once more sliced into the vacant air. A third attempt yielded a similar result, the green-eyed Arrancar looking as though he was swatting at a fly that wasn't there. A moment of stillness passed when a trio of black butterflies suddenly blossomed upon his chest, each one mere inches away from the other.

"So," Soi Fon said as she appeared between the two Arrancar with a whisper, "it looks as though it's my turn to save your ass, Grimmjow."

"Tch," he replied with a smirk. "I was just about to turn it around on him, Soi."

She smiled, but she didn't take her eyes off of Ulquiorra. "I'm sure you were."

"Captain Soi Fon," Ulquiorra said calmly, "it seems as though the legends of your speed are all quite justified. Had you faced a lesser opponent, you would surely be the victor by now."

"You call _that_ speed?" Soi Fon shot back. "You haven't seen anything yet."

She was suddenly in behind him, _Suzumebachi _glinting in the sunlight of _Las Noches _as it plunged into the flesh of his back. Ulquiorra spun around and lashed out at her, simultaneously creating another lance in his open hand. He quickly slashed this second blade downwards in front of him, his weapon crashing into Soi Fon's guarded wrist as she attempted to connect with one of the pre-existing _homonka _on his chest. She quickly leapt upwards to place some distance between them. His weapon's reach was almost three times as long as hers; it would be suicide to remain close to him.

A buzz of _sonído _sounded behind her, and she turned her head to find Ulquiorra poised to strike at her unprotected backside. Before she could complete her turn, however, Ulquiorra vanished again as Grimmjow's zanpakuto narrowly missed his neck. The shorter Arrancar reappeared a short distance away from the two of them, his wings snapping open menacingly over the desert skyline.

"Give it up, Ulquiorra," Soi Fon said calmly. "You know that you can't take on both of us."

"Is that so?"

Before either of them could reply, Ulquiorra's body released an opaque wall of _reiatsu _that forced them back along their heels. Several of the nearby towers shattered like crystals, their ruby exteriors crumpling under the immense wave of pressure. Grimmjow couldn't tell if this surge of power had cast the entire dome into darkness or if it had momentarily blinded him. He was afraid it was the latter.

"_What… the hell?" _Grimmjow heard Soi Fon hiss through a clenched jaw.

As his vision slowly returned, he was faced with a monster he could barely identify as Ulquiorra Schiffer.

"_Resurrección," _Ulquiorra said calmly, "_Segunda Etapa."_

Soi Fon suddenly vanished from his peripheral vision as Ulquiorra disappeared from in front of him. Grimmjow looked behind him to see her flying alongside their enemy, her right hand moving at an insane speed as she struggled to block his strikes. Grimmjow buzzed towards them, appearing next to the two of them. He slashed downwards at Ulquiorra's shoulder, causing the other Arrancar to abort his attacks on Soi Fon to avoid losing his arm. He turned and threw a speared hand at Grimmjow at the same time he threw out a kick behind him to catch Soi Fon in the chest.

She fell backwards for a moment before vanishing, reappearing almost immediately next to Ulquiorra. Her targets on his chest were still there, but she could barely see them beneath the black that oozed out from his hollow-hole. He quickly ignited a lance, this one visibly more powerful than any he'd created before. He spun it around him, using it like a bo-staff to both block and strike. Grimmjow was forced to abandon an attack to save his body from being bifurcated by the lightning rod, both he and Soi Fon retreating slightly as Ulquiorra stood between them.

"Ulquiorra," Grimmjow said through labored breaths, "You bastard."

"Does my second form surprise you?" Ulquiorra asked calmly. "Surely it isn't my secrecy about it? Or is this jealousy I hear in your voice?"

"Surrender," Soi Fon snapped, stopping Grimmjow from responding to the taunt. "We're too fast for you to handle, Ulquiorra. You're just barely keeping the both of us away from you as it is."

"Captain Soi Fon," Ulquiorra said, turning his head slightly to make eye-contact with her. "I am surprised that _you,_of all people, haven't noticed that I am holding myself back."

Soi stood silent for a moment.

"I thought you were," she responded finally. "But I don't understand why."

"As I said before, it is not my intention to kill either of you."

"Eh?" Grimmjow spat from the other direction. "Then just what the fuck is your _intention_?"

Ulquiorra closed his eyes slowly. "To force you to join our army of Espada."

"You must be fucking insane," Soi Fon hissed immediately, "if you think we'll be joining you."

"Captain Soi Fon," Ulquiorra said flippantly, his cold green eyes opening and flicking over to her in a condescending manner. "I was not talking to you."

Soi Fon immediately rushed forward, her golden weapon aimed directly at one of the _homonka _upon Ulquiorra's flesh, her teeth bared like an enraged wolf. He swiftly slashed upwards at her with his lance, the burning spear slipping through her body, causing it to disappear. It was quickly replaced by another illusion. Ulquiorra attempted to attack this spectre as well, before his vision expanded and he saw that he was surrounded by high-speed clones of both Grimmjow and Soi Fon.

Ulquiorra looked at the two of them expressionlessly as they surrounded him, the sound of their high-speed movements creating a low din that filled his ears. Ulquiorra's eyes flicked back and forth between each of them, his green irises moving at lightning speed as he tried to discern which of these apparitions were fakes and which were genuine.

They suddenly bolted forward to attack, ten illusions rushing at him from all angles.

The attack stopped as quickly as it had begun. Grimmjow was dangling helplessly as Ulquiorra's whip-like tail wrapped itself around his throat. Soi Fon's right wrist and zanpakuto were both gripped within Ulquiorra's left fist. The two of them made eye contact for a brief moment, her eyebrows twisting and knotting in rage as she glared at his emotionless face. With a growl, she threw her fist forward, her entire left arm surrounded in the energy of _shunkou _as it screamed towards his face_._

In a movement as fast as lightning, Ulquiorra sliced upwards with his weapon, severing Soi Fon's arm directly below the shoulder. Her eyes widened in surprise as her limb flew away from her body, blood spilling out from around the red muscle and white bone. She watched it flail limply through the air for a few seconds before the uncontrolled _shunkou _energy caused it to explode and vanish completely.

Only then could she find her voice and scream.

Ulquiorra quickly tossed her at the ground, her small body slamming into the sand. Grimmjow roared behind him and sliced the demonic Hollow's tail in half, freeing himself from the stronger Arrancar's grip. Before he could even descend towards Soi Fon, Ulquiorra was in front of him. With a quick jab, Grimmjow Jaggerjaques fell backwards as a lighting lance stuck out of his chest. His eyes were wide as he dropped; he couldn't believe that the two of them had been defeated so soundly.

He hit the floor and Ulquiorra was immediately upon him, a black-taloned foot resting square on his chest, pinning him to the sand. The green-eyed Arrancar reached down and plucked the lance from his flesh, eliciting a groan of anguish from him.

"Now, Grimmjow," Ulquiorra said calmly, slowly. "Let's make a deal."

Grimmjow roared and spun on his back, taking Ulquiorra by surprise. He lashed out with his _katana,_completely severing the foot that had been resting on his chest a moment ago. Ulquiorra darted upwards, his hellish wings flapping for a moment before he immediately dived back towards the sand, his lost limb already regenerating. He was not aiming for Grimmjow, however. He instead landed upon Soi Fon, his clawed hand reaching down and gripping her neck before lifting her up effortlessly. He dangled her in the air, her left shoulder gushing with blood.

Grimmjow stopped moving instantly.

"You fuckin' put her down," he hissed. "_Right fucking now!"_

"Then let's make a deal," Ulquiorra repeated as he tapped the air next to him, a _garganta_tearing open at his touch. "You throw down your sword and I let her live."

"_Fuck you!" _Grimmjow spat, the slightest bit of hesitation bubbling up in his voice.

"Grimmjow," Ulquiorra said sternly. "You must certainly know that right now, eliminating her would be as simple as drawing in a breath. Think carefully before you answer me again. Throw down your sword."

Grimmjow was frozen in his tracks. He could hardly think, he could hardly breathe. There she was – the woman he loved, the woman who had given him a new life – dangling helplessly in the claws of this demon Arrancar before him. His body was numb, his skin prickling as though every inch of him had fallen asleep.

Her silver eyes flickered up at him from beneath her dirt and sweat-soaked hair, silently pleading for him to ignore her and fight. He knew that was her command from a single look; he could read her eyes better than most people could read a book. He knew her like he knew himself. He _loved _her. His chest ached just to see her like this, his stomach was slowly twisting itself into knots over and over again inside of him. She was going to die unless he did something.

Silently, slowly, _Pantera _slipped from his hand and into the white sand below his feet.

_No! _He could see her eyes screaming at him. _Grimmjow! No!_

"A prudent decision," Ulquiorra said as Grimmjow sank to his knees. The green-eyed Arrancar placed Soi Fon within the gaping black maw beside him, a white pathway forming under her feet. She stood motionless as Ulquiorra turned away, her missing arm dripping blood as her eyes leaked a torrent of silent and angry tears.

Grimmjow looked up and saw her eyes, filled with pain, as the teeth of the portal closed. His own eyes pressed shut as he slumped forward in utter defeat, his heart racing inside his chest as it heaved up and down for air, his face pressed against the hot desert floor.

"Come, Grimmjow," Ulquiorra said calmly from somewhere above him.

"We have work to do."

* * *

**_author's note_**

_i tried to give soi fon her "big damn hero" moment, but... as much as i love her, it needed to go down this way. and before any of you ask, __**yes i know what i'm doing and no she's not going to die.**_

_anyhoo, hopefully the next chapter will be out soonish. maybe even by week's end. we'll see how this crazy weather affects my schedule._

_**reviews **__are, as always, appreciated. as my good friend and midnight-beta __**jazzpha **__says: "Motivation doesn't grow on trees, fuckers."_

_until next time!_

_jta~!_

_**david bowie - subterraneans**_


	26. Epilogue: Untitled

_**Epilogue:**_

_**[Untitled]**_

Ulquiorra Schiffer walked calmly through the halls of the palace, _Pantera_clutched in his left hand. Grimmjow was trailing behind him, his wrists in shackles as he followed, his eyes always on his zanpakuto. As much as he wanted to leap forward and tear off the green-eyed Arrancar's head, Grimmjow managed to restrain himself. Even if he somehow managed to get away from Ulquiorra, there was no way that he would make it outside of _Las Noches. _He had heard the _garganta _open as he'd been chained up and he knew that the remaining Espada had returned. There was no way that he could take them all on.

_Doesn't feel like they've suffered too much, either, _he thought to himself as he walked. _Could it be possible that they completely wiped us out?_

Grimmjow knew he wouldn't have to wait long for an answer; in a few moments he was following Ulquiorra into the Espada's meeting room. The Arrancar around the table immediately stopped moving and stared at the two of them in the doorway. Grimmjow was hoping that his face looked blank; the surprise he felt at seeing so many faces still alive was almost too much for him to register.

His eyes flicked over to Barragan, Stark, and Halibel. The top three Espada were basically unscathed from whatever battles they had faced; Stark's jacket had a small slash in it and part of Halibel's tall collar was missing, exposing a small break in mask beneath. Barragan was completely unharmed. The deadly trio said nothing as Ulquiorra led Grimmjow further into the room.

Off on the other side of the table held the most surprises. Charlotte Cuuhlhourne, Szayel-Aporro Granz, and Tesla sat together. Grimmjow knew for a fact that Szayel-Aporro was being held in Mayuri's labs. Him being here truly confirmed that Soul Society had fallen; the Gotei did not release prisoners. Like his former king, Charlotte looked as though he hadn't even fought anyone.

Tesla on the other hand, looked as though he'd had his ass handed to him twice. His uniform was in tatters and his right arm was missing, the wound already having drenched half of his body in blood. Grimmjow's eyes looked down at his waist, noticing that his zanpakuto was also missing. Whoever had done this to Tesla had made sure to leave him helpless before he'd been rescued.

"Ulquiorra," Barragan said venomously, taking a quick glance at Grimmjow. "You come bearing a gift? I hope you don't think that recruiting _this _will make up for the two other Espada you let die?"

"Barragan," Ulquiorra replied, "once we expose Grimmjow to the _hogyouku, _he will become far more powerful than Rudobón ever was."

Grimmjow almost started at the statement. He had no idea that he was going to exposed to the _hogyouku. _Why would they take an unnecessary risk and make him even stronger? Wouldn't he become a larger danger if he were to get loose? Surely they didn't expect that he'd simply abandoned his ties to Soul Society? The surprised look on Barragan's face seemed to hint at this being all Ulquiorra's idea.

"And Yammy?" Stark said, stopping Ulquiorra and Barragan from bantering.

"Yammy died because he was sloppy and impatient," Ulquiorra replied. "He was a liability that we no longer need to worry about. And considering the circumstances, he was simply a raindrop in the ocean. Wouldn't you agree?"

With a whisper, Kuna Mashiro suddenly appeared in the room, the limp form of Kuchiki Rukia under her arm. She made brief eye contact with Grimmjow, her large eyes looking away when his own widened in shock.

_So they _were _sided with the Espada,_he thought in silent fury. _We were completely fucked on all sides of this attack._

Stark said something that Grimmjow couldn't hear and Mashiro vanished, taking the Shinigami with her. He turned to the other Espada.

"And the two of you?" he asked. "Do you have a damage report? Where is Apache?"

"We assume that Apache and Lilinette have been killed," Tesla said, his eyes flicking nervously between Stark and Halibel. The _Terciera _made no sign of having heard the news of her former adjutant's death. Stark simply shook his head.

"No, Lilinette is fine. Your report?"

"The Urahara shop was completely obliterated by the Vizards. However, it seems that both Urahara Kisuke and Shihoin Yoruichi were allowed to escape. Hisagi Shuuhei, along with Lilinette and Apache, were buried in the rubble. They were assumed dead. Ayasegawa Yumichika and Kurosaki Ichigo are both assumed to be alive, but we have no way of knowing. I did manage to eliminate the threat of them being healed by destroying the rest of the Ishida family, all of whom had inherited their mother's regenerative abilities."

Grimmjow's eyes flickered over to Ulquiorra. To the untrained eye, the _Quarta _did not react at all to the information of Orihime's death. He looked as though he hadn't even heard a thing Tesla had said. But Grimmjow knew Ulquiorra fairly well, and he could see the green-eyed Espada's jaw clenching through his thin, pallid cheeks.

And when he spoke, it was with a venom that silenced the entire room.

"What happened to your zanpakuto," he asked, "Tesla?"

The one-eyed Arrancar immediately recognized what Ulquiorra was getting at. Tesla sat rigid in his seat as he stared in forced silence at the other Espada. Ulquiorra glared forward calmly, almost causing Grimmjow to wince; Tesla was in serious trouble and the rest of the room wasn't about to spring to his defense. Ulquiorra didn't care what the answer was, only that it gave him an excuse.

"I lost it in my fight against Kurosaki Ichigo."

"So that would make you unable to attain your _resurrección _ever again?"

"Ulquiorra, I—" Tesla began when Ulquiorra's zanpakuto plunged deep into his chest, pinning him against the tall chair he was sitting in. Blood began to spill out of his parted lips as his solitary eye bulged in anger. Ulquiorra was already standing in front of him, his hand gripping the hilt of the _katana _and forcing it deeper through flesh.

"Then we have no need for you."

Ulquiorra glared down at Tesla for a moment longer before he smashed his fist into the other Arrancar's face, immediately pulling his blade out as Tesla's torso slumped forward out of the chair and landed on the floor. Szayel-Aporro snickered in the seat next to him, his eyes glittering at the opportunity to experiment on this now obsolete comrade. The rest of the room remained silent as Ulquiorra flicked blood off of his zanpakuto and sheathed it. He turned and began to walk past the room.

"Grimmjow," he said calmly, "come with me."

Grimmjow stood and followed, his hands still bound, his zanpakuto still in captivity. He followed Ulquiorra for a few minutes through the all-too-familiar hallways, his mouth shut as he thought about how he was going to get away from _Las Noches _and find Soi Fon. Thinking about her suddenly made him angry. He hated not knowing if she was still alive. He could easily assume that she was; she'd lost her left arm and, while still a grievous injury, wasn't lethal. She was more than capable of surviving the amputation and training herself to fight without it. But he still hated not knowing for sure.

"Jeez, Ulquiorra," he said, his frustration venting out through bitter sarcasm. "This is _quite_ the tight ship you guys are running here. I would have sold us up the creek for this shit, too."

"Haven't I already told you," Ulquiorra said, sounding a bit exasperated, "that things aren't what they seem?"

"The fuck is that 'sposed to mean?"

"It means that you need to get stronger…" Ulquiorra said, turning into the room where Grimmjow would be exposed to the _hogyouku _once more. "…If you'll be helping me destroy this army from within."

Grimmjow stopped, his eyes widening in surprise as Ulquiorra continued deeper into the room. After a moment, a broad smirk opened up over his mouth and Grimmjow followed him in.

* * *

The winds were finally dying down.

Urahara Kisuke stood from his desk, no longer feeling threatened by the extreme weather outside. While he knew for a fact that, _on paper_, this hideout was sturdy enough to be a temporary base-camp, the autumnal winds off the Avacha Bay were definitely straining his faith in the small building. Another gale began to rip up the hillside and into the face of the shop, causing his jaw to clench.

_Oh come on, _he said to himself as he watched a nearby tree snap in half, the house groaning against the wind. _Have a little more faith, Kisuke. Tessai promised it would hold._

Urahara glanced out the window and into the bay itself, his eyes absent-mindedly tracing the _Tri Brata, _a trio of stone monoliths that stood erect from the waters. The waning moon was almost at the top of the sky, causing the three buttes to cast an eerie set of shadows across the churning surface of the sea. With a sigh, he turned away and looked back at the room.

Yoruichi was snoring softly on the bed behind him, the white bandages that were wrapped around her chest standing out against her dark skin. Thanks to Love's _Tengumaru, _she now had four broken ribs, a cracked clavicle and a fractured ulna. Her entire left side was completely banged-up, with bruises running from her thigh to her cheek.

She shouldn't be alive, Urahara knew that much. Aikawa Love could easily destroy an entire cliff-face with one swing of his massive cudgel. There's no way that he didn't purposefully hold back when he'd swung at Yoruichi. Considering that she had ambushed him, he hadn't really had the time to consider _who_he was attacking and how _soft_to swing his club.

Which meant that, despite their destructive rampage, the Vizards weren't trying to kill anyone.

At first he'd assumed that Shinji and his crew were simply out for some revenge against Soul Society. Besides, all things considered, vengeance was long over-due. The second that he'd been briefed on the collaborative mission between the Gotei and the Vizards, he'd placed up his guard. He knew Shinji too well to simply assume that he would propose an altruistic plea of peace. And with the appearance of the Espada, his idea began to solidify. _Could _Hirako Shinji make a deal with the remnants of Aizen's army? _Would _he go that far to get revenge on those who had betrayed him?

Urahara now knew that the answer, irrevocably so, was yes.

But what he couldn't get around was the _pick and choose _style of casualties within Soul Societies ranks. People that should have been killed, like Yoruichi, were still alive; whereas innocents like Orihime and her family had been killed. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that most of the survivors had faced the Vizards, not the Espada. There was no way this could be an accident or a coincidence. As a man of science, Urahara Kisuke did not believe in luck. He believed that everything within the universe was knocked into place by prior events and he'd never seen anything to disprove this idea. He'd never seen a miracle that couldn't be explained, he'd never seen an impossibility that couldn't be statistically challenged. So _why _did the Vizards _release_ while the Arrancar _slaughtered_?

"_Ugh_," Yoruichi groaned as she turned, the pain from her injuries dragging her out of sleep. She blinked once, at the still unfamiliar surroundings, and twice, at Kisuke watching her. She sat up gingerly and looked at him, a small frown upon her lips.

"Kisuke," she said, "what are you doing all the way over there?"

Urahara smiled warmly but did not move. "Thinking."

"About the Vizards?"

"Yeah."

"You still believe your initial theory?"

"I," he said softly, "don't know anymore."

"Well, it's like you said," Yoruichi groaned as she forced herself up from the futon. "If they wanted to kill us, we'd probably be dead already."

"Yeah."

She walked over, favoring her right side. She slipped a weak arm around his waist and he turned in her embrace. He bent down and kissed her gently, thankful that she was still with him. As their lips broke away from each other, she left the room. Urahara smiled as she tried to suppress her limp on her way towards the main hall of the building.

_Hirako Shinji, _Urahara thought as he turned back to the window, _what are you trying to pull?_

Regardless of the rhyme or reason, Urahara was now stuck in one of his numerous "back-up" locations, ingeniously devised by himself and Tessai within the past few years. They both knew that things could possibly grow foul between Soul Society and her many enemies – and with Urahara's newly repaired relationship with the _Seireitei, _it was better to be safe than sorry.

Urahara just thanked his own intuition that he'd thought to copy all of his important _gigai _information before the original copies were destroyed. In fact, the night that Yoruichi had shown up had caused him to initiate the data transfers to the many computers he had spread over the continent. He knew that she had been keeping her eye on the Vizards; even if she wouldn't admit it, her appearance told him that she had seen or heard something to spook her out of hiding.

Urahara felt a blisteringly cold gust of wind rip through the house as Yoruichi threw the door open in the other room. Before he could turn away from the glass pane, the gale was stifled and he heard a shuffling come from the foyer. Urahara stepped towards the doorway as Yoruichi staggered into the room, Soi Fon draped over her shoulders. Urahara could tell within a few seconds that the petite captain was in horrible shape. Her lips were lavender from the cold and she was almost completely relying on Yoruichi for support. The dark-skinned woman gently placed her old friend upon the futon, causing Urahara to gasp as he got a better look.

Soi Fon's left arm was missing above the elbow, the wound still bleeding despite being wrapped tightly within the tattered remains of her yellow _obi. _Yoruichi immediately began to cast a healing spell over the weakened Shinigami as Kisuke opened up a file on his computer, studying the data that he'd collected on Soi Fon. He began the preparations needed for building her one of his new _gigai._ A _gigai _that could use a zanpakuto. A _gigai _that was untraceable.

_Well, _he thought to himself as Soi Fon's data appeared on his computer's screen, _it looks like the first of the resistance has arrived.

* * *

_

Hirako Shinji stood in the Captain-commander's room, his hands buried in his pockets as he looked out over a moonlit Soul Society. A few dots of orange bespeckled the darkened skyline, the evidence that there were still some fires burning out in the distance. Even _Rukongai _wasn't safe from this most recent wave of attacks.

Ichimaru Gin, after freeing himself from the Maggot's nest, had created an impromptu army out of his fellow inmates. As soon as the last of the seated Shinigami within _Seireitei_ were killed or imprisoned, Gin had sent these guerillas out beyond the wall and into the commoner's city. Shinji had no idea how many innocents were being slaughtered out there, but he could probably guess.

A large ball of fire suddenly rose from the horizon, a flash of yellow and orange flaring up in the darkness as another person's home exploded. A chuckle broke out behind him at the sight, causing him to turn around and find Ichimaru Gin standing in the doorway. Shinji only briefly made eye-contact with his partner and former subordinate before turning his body back to the massive window. Gin eventually took up a space next to him.

"It's a shame that my little troops out there wouldn't survive the hollowfication process," he said lightly, like a disappointed parent. "They certainly would make a wonderful army of Vizards, don't ya agree, Hirako-san?"

Shinji said nothing.

Gin chuckled once, lightly. "Though, once we get them their zanpakuto back, I suppose we can still use them for… something. Oh, I got an _idea._"

He turned and faced Shinji completely; Gin was trying to screw with him now, and he was doing a very good job. His smile widened.

"Simply create Vizards from those Shinigami we captured today. They're all captains and lieutenants so they _should_ be able to survive the process, wouldn't ya say, Hirako-san?"

Shinji snapped, his arm whipping out and grabbing the lapel of Gin's jacket. He pulled the grinning face close to him, his forearm digging into the man's chest, his eyes wide. Shinji's smile was gone while Gin's simply grew.

"You won't be _touchin'_ them with that fucking _hogyouku," _he hissed, "you got me? I'll make sure of it."

"Oh my," Gin said, almost playfully, reaching his own hand up and lightly poking Shinji's fist. "Ya sho' are letting this betrayal get to ya. Your guilt is practically overwhelmin' ya, Hirako-san. "

Shinji's eyes narrowed menacingly before he shoved Gin back lightly and spun around to look out at the sky once more. Gin chuckled behind him and took one step forward, bringing his mouth directly behind Shinji's ear.

"And try not to forget, Hirako Shinji," Gin said, the playfulness gone from his voice, "now that I'm back, you're no longer givin' any orders."

Ichimaru Gin stepped back twice before turning around silently, leaving Shinji alone once more at the window. He sighed, his shoulders shaking in anger as he tried to calm himself. He knew that the Espada were going to make a play for those captive Shinigami, but he had no idea that they wanted to make Vizards out of them. And his reaction to the news made him look suspicious to Gin. Shinji needed to get away from Ichimaru before something wound up impaled on a blade.

"You shouldn't make Gin doubtful like that," a calm voice came from the shadows of the room, "Hirako Shinji."

Shinji stiffened at the sound. The voice was smooth and calm. It exuded enough confidence and slow charisma to captivate an entire room. It was a voice Shinji had heard a million times in his life and a million more in his head. It was a voice he could never, ever forget.

He snickered.

"How long you plan on watchin' me from over there," he said, turning his head, "Aizen?"

Aizen Sousuke stepped out from the shadows, his face lifted in a comforting and perfect smile.

"I can't have you and Gin warring under me," he continued. "The captured Shinigami will all be fighting for me, no matter what. We might as well make them stronger by giving them the powers of a hollow. Certainly you agree with me?"

"Yeah," Shinji lied, swallowing a lump. He knew that arguing against Aizen was a losing battle. It was exactly like Gin had said – he was no longer in control. "Yeah," he lied again.

Aizen was standing next to him, looking up at the sky. His eternally complacent smile remained on his face as he looked over the constellations that swirled above them. Shinji looked at him, grateful that Aizen had finally exposed himself, finally come out of hiding. He smiled broadly; not being in command was _exactly _what he needed. Now he could begin to put his own plans into action.

"How long have you known that I was still alive, Hirako?" Aizen asked, his eyes still upturned.

_When you least expect it, Aizen…_

Shinji snickered. "Since you were in yer mama's womb, Sousuke."

…_I'm going to kill you._

Shinji smiled and looked up at the stars.

* * *

_**author's note**_

_story's over! woohoo!_

you guys aren't mad at me, are ya? trust me, read the big author's note in the next chapter and you'll cheer up.

**jta~!**

_**[untitled]**_


	27. Author's Note and Playlist

_**Final Authors Note:**_

_Just like in "The Empire Strikes Back", we end the story on a tremendous downer. But at least this means one thing: __**Part III**__ is on her way. I recommend putting me on an __**authoralert**__, __since I don't know when I'm going to start it yet. Probably sooner than later, I think and hope._

_That took a while. Sorry to everyone that was waiting on the rest of the story while I was on my hiatus. Life got hectic and blah-de-blah-blah. Seriously though, it took a little over a year to write this; I started the night of __**last **__Super Bowl. That's a tremendously long time, so thanks to everyone who stuck it out._

_As always, huge shout-outs to my crack-team of reviewers and spell-checkers: __**jazzpha, MatsuMama, and F1yMordecai. **__They were fantastic to bounce ideas around and their criticisms and encouragements helped me enormously. (__**F1yMordecai **__did some boss-ass fanart as well, go check it out on the deviantart.)_

_And of course, any and all of you wonderful people out there that have been reading. Every review, even during that heat wave I had, was awesome to get. Your kind words became fuel for my fingers and my eyes and my brain. This was for you._

_Like last time, the playlist will be written below. See you guys in the next one!_

_JasoTheArtisan~!_

* * *

_**Halloween – Dave Matthews Band – Before These Crowded Streets**_

_**The Night Watch – Tub Ring – Zoo Hypothesis**_

_**Butterflies and Hurricanes – Muse – Absolution**_

_**Le Sang des Bêtes – Joseph Kosma – Le Sang des Bêtes**_

_**Sound Check (Gravity) – Gorillaz – Gorillaz**_

_**Aubade – Kaada/Patton – Romances**_

_**Bydło – Modest Mussorgsky – Pictures at an Exhibition**_

_**Sirènes – Frederic Chopin – The Snowflakes are Dancing (Tomita)**_

_**Cum Mortuis in Lingua Mortua – Modest Mussorgsky – Pictures at an Exhibition**_

_**Pistolero – Juno Reactor – Shango**_

_**Warszawa – David Bowie – Low **_

_**Zombie Eaters – Faith No More – The Real Thing**_

_**Ur: Anthropomorphosis – Secret Chiefs 3 – Book of Horizons **_

_**Wildhoney – Tiamat – Wildhoney**_

_**Love is a Fist – Mr. Bungle – Mr. Bungle**_

_**Into the Hollow – Queens of the Stone Age – Era Vulgaris**_

_**Mescal Rite – Tomahawk – Anonymous**_

_**Weeping Wall – David Bowie – Low**_

_**Batucada – Mike Patton – A Perfect Place**_

_**A Shot of Crisis – Yasonori Mitsuda – Chrono Trigger**_

_**Zaar – Peter Gabriel – Passion**_

_**Sysyphus – Pink Floyd – Ummagumma**_

_**One Girl in All the World – The Wingless – **_

_**Cirrus Minor – Pink Floyd – More**_

_**Holy Vehm: Hypostasis of the Archons – Secret Chiefs 3 – Book of Horizons**_

_**Subterraneans – David Bowie – Low**_

_**[Untitled]**_

_˙ǝɯɐƃ ǝɥʇ 'oslɐ_


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